Working memory capacity of crows and monkeys arises from similar neuronal computations.
Working memory capacity of crows and monkeys arises from similar neuronal computations.
复制标题
作者：
Hahn LA;Balakhonov D;Fongaro E;Nieder A;Rose J
复杂的认知依赖于灵活的工作记忆，而工作记忆的容量受到严重限制。这些能力限制背后的神经元计算已在人类和猴子身上进行了广泛的研究，从而产生了相互竞争的理论模型。我们在为猴子（Macaca mulatta）开发的变化检测任务中探测了乌鸦（Corvus corone）的工作记忆容量，同时我们对前额叶样区域 nidopallium caudotropice 进行了细胞外记录。我们发现神经元编码和信息维护受到项目负载的影响，其方式与从猴子前额叶皮层获得的结果几乎相同。当代工作记忆的神经生理学模型采用分裂标准化作为可能导致容量限制的重要机制。由于这些模型通常是在专门的哺乳动物环境中概念化和测试的，因此仍不清楚它们是否完全捕获了工作记忆的一般概念，或者它们是否仅限于哺乳动物新皮质。在这里，我们报告说，腐肉乌鸦和猕猴共享分裂归一化作为与哺乳动物模型一致的神经元计算。这表明在哺乳动物皮层中开发的工作记忆计算模型也适用于鸟类的非皮层联想大脑区域。工作记忆是大脑暂时保存和操纵信息的能力。它对于执行复杂的认知任务（例如推理、计划、遵循指令或解决问题）至关重要。与长期记忆不同，信息不是被存储和回忆的，而是以可访问的状态短暂保存。然而，工作记忆的容量非常有限。例如，人类只能同时持有大约四项信息。关于这种限制是如何由大脑神经元网络产生的，存在各种相互竞争的理论。这些模型基于对人类和其他灵长类动物的研究。但记忆限制并不是哺乳动物所独有的。事实上，一些鸟类（例如乌鸦）的工作记忆与人类具有相似的能力，尽管它们的大脑结构与哺乳动物非常不同。那么，具有如此明显结构差异的大脑如何产生具有相似能力的工作记忆呢？为了调查，哈恩等人。在为猕猴开发的变化检测任务中探究了食腐乌鸦的工作记忆。乌鸦被训练记住不同数量的彩色方块，并在屏幕变黑时延迟一秒后指出哪个方块发生了变化。当乌鸦执行任务时，哈恩等人。测量了大脑中相当于前额皮质的区域神经元的活动，前额皮质是哺乳动物认知的中枢。实验表明，乌鸦大脑中的神经元对颜色变化的反应几乎与猴子神经元相同。哈恩等人。还注意到，增加乌鸦必须记住的项目数量会影响单个神经元，其方式与之前在猴子中观察到的类似。这表明鸟类和猴子尽管大脑结构存在差异，但其工作记忆的中心机制和限制相同。远缘物种之间的相似性也验证了从哺乳动物研究中得出的关于工作记忆局限性的核心观点。
Complex cognition relies on flexible working memory, which is severely limited in its capacity. The neuronal computations underlying these capacity limits have been extensively studied in humans and in monkeys, resulting in competing theoretical models. We probed the working memory capacity of crows (Corvus corone) in a change detection task, developed for monkeys (Macaca mulatta), while we performed extracellular recordings of the prefrontal-like area nidopallium caudolaterale. We found that neuronal encoding and maintenance of information were affected by item load, in a way that is virtually identical to results obtained from monkey prefrontal cortex. Contemporary neurophysiological models of working memory employ divisive normalization as an important mechanism that may result in the capacity limitation. As these models are usually conceptualized and tested in an exclusively mammalian context, it remains unclear if they fully capture a general concept of working memory or if they are restricted to the mammalian neocortex. Here, we report that carrion crows and macaque monkeys share divisive normalization as a neuronal computation that is in line with mammalian models. This indicates that computational models of working memory developed in the mammalian cortex can also apply to non-cortical associative brain regions of birds. Working memory is the brain’s ability to temporarily hold and manipulate information. It is essential for carrying out complex cognitive tasks, such as reasoning, planning, following instructions or solving problems. Unlike long-term memory, information is not stored and recalled, but held in an accessible state for brief periods. However, the capacity of working memory is very limited. Humans, for example, can only hold around four items of information simultaneously. There are various competing theories about how this limitation arises from the network of neurons in the brain. These models are based on studies of humans and other primates. But memory limitations are not exclusive to mammals. Indeed, the working memory of some birds, such as crows, has a similar capacity to humans despite the architecture of their brains being very different to mammals. So, how do brains with such distinct structural differences produce working memories with similar capacities? To investigate, Hahn et al. probed the working memory of carrion crows in a change detection task developed for macaque monkeys. Crows were trained to memorize varying numbers of colored squares and indicate which square had changed after a one second delay when the screen went blank. While the crows performed the task, Hahn et al. measured the activity of neurons in an area of the brain equivalent to the prefrontal cortex, the central hub of cognition in mammals. The experiments showed that neurons in the crow brain responded to the changing colors virtually the same way as neurons in monkeys. Hahn et al. also noticed that increasing the number of items the crows had to remember affected individual neurons in a similar fashion as had previously been observed in monkeys. This suggests that birds and monkeys share the same central mechanisms of, and limits to, working memory despite differences in brain architecture. The similarities across distantly related species also validates core ideas about the limits of working memory developed from studies of mammals.
影响因子：
3.4
作者：
Brady RJ;Hampton RR
通讯作者：
Hampton RR