Elucidation of mechanisms of recognizing other's intention using newly developing in vivo connection imaging and electrophyisiology

我们研究了猕猴前（TE）和后下颞叶皮层（TEO）的对象识别电路，使用两步法与体内解剖成像。在步骤1中，将红色荧光示踪剂注射到TE中以揭示和预靶向TEO中前馈神经元的斑块。在步骤2中，这些在体内皮质表面上可视化，并注射绿色荧光示踪剂。组织学处理显示，TEO中距离注射部位>500 μm的斑块由混合的绿色TEO固有投射神经元和红色TEO-to-TE神经元组成，只有少数双标记神经元。相比之下，在TEO注射部位附近的补丁包含许多双标记的神经元。两个平行的，空间上混合的回路建议：（1）TEO神经元具有非常本地的内在侧支和TE的投射（2）TEO神经元投射更广泛的内在网络，但不TE。这些并行系统可能分别专用于快速处理信号和高度处理信号。

We investigated circuits for object recognition in macaque anterior (TE) and posterior inferotemporal cortex (TEO), using a two-step method with in vivo anatomical imaging. In step 1, red fluorescent tracer was injected into TE to reveal and Pre-target patches of feedforward neurons in TEO. In step 2, these were visualized on the cortical surface in vivo, and injected with green fluorescent tracer. Histological processing revealed that patches >500 μm from the injection site in TEO consisted of intermingled green TEO intrinsically projecting neurons and red TEO-to-TE neurons, with only few double-labeled neurons. In contrast, patches near the injection site in TEO contained many double-labeled neurons. Two parallel, spatially intermingled circuits are suggested: (1) TEO neurons having very local intrinsic collaterals and projection to TE (2) TEO neurons projecting more widely in the intrinsic network, but not to TE. These parallel systems might be specialized for, respectively, fast vs. highly processed signals.