Spatial working memory in frontal cortex

猕猴的补充眼区（SEF）通常被认为是眼区。这一观点似乎得到了以下事实的支持：当猴子准备进行眼球运动时，SEF神经元会放电，每个神经元都会在眼球运动之前优先放电到有限反应区域内的目标。然而，规划眼球运动涉及记住目标的位置并将注意力部署到这些位置。因此，SEF中的神经元活动可能与伴随眼球运动的高阶功能有关，而不是与眼球运动本身的编程有关。为了解决这个问题是拟议的实验的目的。将训练猴子执行记忆引导的扫视任务（其中它们必须将眼睛运动计划到记住的位置）和空间工作记忆任务（其中它们必须记住位置但抑制任何看它的倾向）。在每种任务的背景下，它们将被训练来处理相对于视网膜和相对于参考对象定义的位置。在任务执行期间，将在SEE中监测神经元活动。将分析数据以检验以下假设：SEF中的神经元表示保持在工作记忆中的位置，而不管这些位置是否是预期眼球运动的目标。研究结果将阐明空间工作记忆的神经机制，并有助于解释母亲和额叶受累的神经精神障碍病例中发生的行为障碍的性质。

The supplementary eye field (SEF) of the macaque monkey is commonly thought to be an oculomotor area. This view is seemingly supported by the fact that SEF neurons fire when monkeys prepare to make eye movements, with each neuron firing preferentially before eye movements to targets within a restricted response field. However, planning eye movements involves remembering the locations of targets and deploying attention to those locations. Thus neuronal activity in the SEF may be related to high-order functions accompanying eye movements rather than to the programming of eye movements in itself. To resolve this issue is the aim of the proposed experiments. Monkeys will be trained to perform both a memory guided saccade task (in which they mast plan eye movements to a remembered location) and a spatial working memory task (in which they must remember a location but suppress any tendency to look at it). In the context of each kind of task, they will be trained to process locations as defined with respect to the retina and with respect to reference objects. During task performance, neuronal activity will be monitored in the SEE The data will be analyzed to test the hypothesis that neurons in the SEF represent locations being held in working memory regardless of whether or not those locations are the targets of intended eye movements. The results will clarify the neural mechanisms underlying spatial working memory and will help to explain the nature of behavioral impairments occurring after mum and in cases of neuropsychiatric disorder with frontal lobe involvement.