Neuronal firing in the inferotemporal cortex of the monkey in a visual memory task
Neuronal firing in the inferotemporal cortex of the monkey in a visual memory task
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.02-03-00361.1982
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发表时间：
1982-03
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
J. Fuster;J. Jervey
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Fuster;J. Jervey
本研究的目的是阐明在灵长类动物的颞下皮层神经元的功能作用。用微电极记录了猴子在执行视觉延迟匹配样本任务时的单个单元活动。在每次试验中，动物都短暂地接触到一种颜色——样品——在一段时间的延迟后，必须在同时呈现的两种或四种颜色中选择相同的颜色。因此，正确执行任务需要对每次试验的样品颜色进行感知、保留和识别。大量的颞下单元对刺激的反应随放电频率的变化而变化。许多单位表现出颜色依赖反应，表明它们参与了对颜色的感知和辨别。在延迟期间，大量细胞表现出增加的、持续的、在某些情况下与颜色相关的放电，这并不一定是在样品或匹配周期的放电变化之前或之后发生的。有人提出，这些细胞参与了样品刺激的暂时保留。由于大多数被检查的颞下单元在一个以上的试验期间显示出放电变化，它们似乎参与了任务所需的不止一种操作。因此，这些数据并不支持在颞下皮层内视觉功能的明确的地形分离。然而，似乎参与视觉记忆的神经元，无论是单独的还是除了其他功能之外，都集中在颞上沟下岸的皮层中。
The objective of this study was to elucidate the functional role of neurons in the inferotemporal cortex of the primate. Single unit activity was recorded with microelectrodes in monkeys performing a visual delayed matching-to-sample task. On each trial, the animal was exposed briefly to a color - the sample - and, after a period of delay, had to select the same color among two or four colors simultaneously presented. Thus, correct performance of the task required perception, retention, and recognition of the sample color for every trial. A large number of inferotemporal units were seen to react to the stimuli with changes of firing frequency. Many units showed color-dependent reactions, suggesting their involvement in perception and discrimination of colors. A substantial contingent of cells showed increased, sustained, and in some cases, color-dependent discharge during the delay which was not necessarily preceded or succeeded by firing changes in sample or match periods. It is proposed that those cells were engaged in temporary retention of the sample stimulus. Since most of the inferotemporal units examined showed firing changes in more than one period of a trial, they appeared to be involved in more than one of the operations required by the task. Thus, the data do not support a clear-cut topographic separation of visual functions within the inferotmeporal cortex. However, neurons that appear to participate in visual memory, either exclusively or in addition to other functions, are concentrated in the cortex of the lower banks of the superior temporal sulcus.