Neural encoding of the concept of nest in the mouse brain
Neural encoding of the concept of nest in the mouse brain
复制标题
小鼠大脑中巢概念的神经编码
DOI：
10.1073/pnas.0701106104
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发表时间：
2007-04-03
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Tsien, Joe Z.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lin, Longnian;Chen, Guifen;Tsien, Joe Z.
就像记忆对于我们的日常功能一样重要，从各种情节经历中提取基本特征和共性，然后将其概括为抽象概念的能力，对人类和动物适应新的和复杂的情况更加关键。在这里，我们报告了小鼠巢或床这一抽象概念的神经关联。具体地说，我们发现海马神经元在老鼠感觉到巢或床时选择性地发射或停止发射，无论它们的位置和环境如何。参数分析表明，巢细胞的反应对巢的物理形状、风格、颜色、气味或建筑材料的变化保持不变；相反，它们的反应是由对分类特征的自觉意识和物理决定驱动的，这些特征将在功能上定义巢。这种从情景经验中产生的基于功能的概念知识的抽象和概括表明，海马体是大脑中产生概念和知识的分层结构的内在组成部分。
As important as memory is to our daily functions, the ability to extract fundamental features and commonalities from various episodic experiences and to then generalize them into abstract concepts is even more crucial for both humans and animals to adapt to novel and complex situations. Here, we report the neural correlates of the abstract concept of nests or beds in mice. Specifically, we find hippocampal neurons that selectively fire or cease to fire when the mouse perceives nests or beds, regardless of their locations and environments. Parametric analyses show that responses of nest cells remain invariant over changes in the nests' physical shape, style, color, odor, or construction materials; rather, their responses are driven by conscious awareness and physical determination of the categorical features that would functionally define nests. Such functionality-based abstraction and generalization of conceptual knowledge, emerging from episodic experiences, suggests that the hippocampus is an intrinsic part of the hierarchical structure for generating concepts and knowledge in the brain.