SENSORY INTEGRATION & WORKING MEMORY

为了产生有意义的行为，大脑必须将信息 在感觉皮层和运动神经回路中有代表性， 行为的计划和执行。 这种联系需要 跨时间和模态的感觉线索的整合。 我们的研究 靶向顶叶和额叶联合皮层的神经元 脑叶，这被认为是在工作记忆中发挥重要作用。 这些神经元放电几秒钟，然后目光转移到 在视野中记忆的位置。 他们的反应提供了一个 在视觉皮层中存在的空间线索与 眼神经回路 这些神经元似乎也将 视觉运动的表示朝向感知决定。 我们有 记录了两只恒河猴前额叶皮层的神经元 同时判断随机点显示器的运动方向。 我们 研究了被认为在空间神经元中起作用的神经元， 工作记忆和眼球运动的规划。 大多数 这些神经元是活跃的，当猴子计划眼球运动时， 传达其对运动方向的判断的手段。 我们的研究结果表明，前额叶和顶叶皮层起着重要的作用， 在眼动规划和视觉处理中的作用。 使用 反应时间范式，我们发现，这种活动出现之前， 猴子做出了判断 这是最有力的证据， 感觉处理和偶然事件之间的神经联系的日期 行为 实验已经开始揭示 由联合皮层中的神经元执行， 认知及其障碍的神经生物学。 我们感到乐观 我们的研究结果将导致对这种疾病的新的理解和治疗， 恶性疾病，如阿尔茨海默病、脑病， 中风

To produce meaningful behavior, the brain must link information represented in sensory cortex to motor circuitry involved in the planning and execution of behavior. This linkage requires the integration of sensory cues across time and modality. Our research targets neurons in the association cortex of the parietal and frontal lobes, which are believed to play an essential role in working memory. These neurons discharge for several seconds before gaze is shifted to a remembered location in the visual field. Their response provides a temporal bridge between the spatial cues present in visual cortex and oculomotor circuitry. These neurons also appear to link the representation of visual motion toward a perceptual decision. We have recorded from neurons in the prefrontal cortex of two rhesus monkeys while they judged the direction of motion of a random dot display. We have studied neurons that are thought to play a role in spatial working memory and the planning of eye movements. The majority of these neurons are active when the monkey plans eye movements as a means of communicating its judgment about the direction of motion. Our findings suggest that the prefrontal and parietal cortex plays a role in both eye movement planning and visual processing. Using a reaction time paradigm, we have found that this activity arises before the monkey arrives at a judgment. This is the strongest evidence to date for a neural linkage between sensory processing and a contingent behavior. The experiments have begun to reveal the computations performed by neurons in association cortex, lending novel insight into the neurobiology of cognition and its disorders. We are optimistic that our results will lead to new understanding and treatment of such pernicious disorders as Alzheimer's disease, encephalopathy, and stroke.