Cortical activity reductions during repetition priming can result from rapid response learning

Recent observation of objects speeds up their subsequent identification and classification. This common form of learning, known as repetition priming, can operate in the absence of explicit memory for earlier experiences, and functional neuroimaging has shown that object classification improved in this way is accompanied by 'neural priming' (reduced neural activity) in prefrontal, fusiform and other cortical regions. These observations have led to suggestions that cortical representations of items undergo 'tuning', whereby neurons encoding irrelevant information respond less as a given object is observed repeatedly, thereby facilitating future availability of pertinent object knowledge. Here we provide experimental support for an alternative hypothesis, in which reduced cortical activity occurs because subjects rapidly learn their previous responses. After a primed object classification (such as 'bigger than a shoebox'), cue reversal ('smaller than a shoebox') greatly slowed performance and completely eliminated neural priming in fusiform cortex, which suggests that these cortical item representations were no more available for primed objects than they were for new objects. In contrast, prefrontal cortex activity tracked behavioural priming and predicted the degree to which cue reversal would slow down object classification--highlighting the role of the prefrontal cortex in executive control.     

Neuronal basis of age-related working memory decline

Many of the cognitive deficits of normal ageing (forgetfulness, distractibility, inflexibility and impaired executive functions) involve prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction. The PFC guides behaviour and thought using working memory, which are essential functions in the information age. Many PFC neurons hold information in working memory through excitatory networks that can maintain persistent neuronal firing in the absence of external stimulation. This fragile process is highly dependent on the neurochemical environment. For example, elevated cyclic-AMP signalling reduces persistent firing by opening HCN and KCNQ potassium channels. It is not known if molecular changes associated with normal ageing alter the physiological properties of PFC neurons during working memory, as there have been no in vivo recordings, to our knowledge, from PFC neurons of aged monkeys. Here we characterize the first recordings of this kind, revealing a marked loss of PFC persistent firing with advancing age that can be rescued by restoring an optimal neurochemical environment. Recordings showed an age-related decline in the firing rate of DELAY neurons, whereas the firing of CUE neurons remained unchanged with age. The memory-related firing of aged DELAY neurons was partially restored to more youthful levels by inhibiting cAMP signalling, or by blocking HCN or KCNQ channels. These findings reveal the cellular basis of age-related cognitive decline in dorsolateral PFC, and demonstrate that physiological integrity can be rescued by addressing the molecular needs of PFC circuits.     

Top-down signal from prefrontal cortex in executive control of memory retrieval.

Knowledge or experience is voluntarily recalled from memory by reactivation of the neural representations in the cerebral association cortex. In inferior temporal cortex, which serves as the storehouse of visual long-term memory, activation of mnemonic engrams through electric stimulation results in imagery recall in humans, and neurons can be dynamically activated by the necessity for memory recall in monkeys. Neuropsychological studies and previous split-brain experiments predicted that prefrontal cortex exerts executive control upon inferior temporal cortex in memory retrieval; however, no neuronal correlate of this process has ever been detected. Here we show evidence of the top-down signal from prefrontal cortex. In the absence of bottom-up visual inputs, single inferior temporal neurons were activated by the top-down signal, which conveyed information on semantic categorization imposed by visual stimulus-stimulus association. Behavioural performance was severely impaired with loss of the top-down signal. Control experiments confirmed that the signal was transmitted not through a subcortical but through a fronto-temporal cortical pathway. Thus, feedback projections from prefrontal cortex to the posterior association cortex appear to serve the executive control of voluntary recall.     

Control of visual cortical signals by prefrontal dopamine

The prefrontal cortex is thought to modulate sensory signals in posterior cortices during top-down attention, but little is known about the underlying neural circuitry. Experimental and clinical evidence indicate that prefrontal dopamine has an important role in cognitive functions, acting predominantly through D1 receptors. Here we show that dopamine D1 receptors mediate prefrontal control of signals in the visual cortex of macaques (Macaca mulatta). We pharmacologically altered D1-receptor-mediated activity in the frontal eye field of the prefrontal cortex and measured the effect on the responses of neurons in area V4 of the visual cortex. This manipulation was sufficient to enhance the magnitude, the orientation selectivity and the reliability of V4 visual responses to an extent comparable with the known effects of top-down attention. The enhancement of V4 signals was restricted to neurons with response fields overlapping the part of visual space affected by the D1 receptor manipulation. Altering either D1- or D2-receptor-mediated frontal eye field activity increased saccadic target selection but the D2 receptor manipulation did not enhance V4 signals. Our results identify a role for D1 receptors in mediating the control of visual cortical signals by the prefrontal cortex and suggest how processing in sensory areas could be altered in mental disorders involving prefrontal dopamine.     

Single neurons in prefrontal cortex encode abstract rules.

The ability to abstract principles or rules from direct experience allows behaviour to extend beyond specific circumstances to general situations. For example, we learn the 'rules' for restaurant dining from specific experiences and can then apply them in new restaurants. The use of such rules is thought to depend on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) because its damage often results in difficulty in following rules. Here we explore its neural basis by recording from single neurons in the PFC of monkeys trained to use two abstract rules. They were required to indicate whether two successively presented pictures were the same or different depending on which rule was currently in effect. The monkeys performed this task with new pictures, thus showing that they had learned two general principles that could be applied to stimuli that they had not yet experienced. The most prevalent neuronal activity observed in the PFC reflected the coding of these abstract rules.     

慢性应激对小鼠空间学习记忆功能及海马和前额叶皮层BDNF表达的影响

采用多因素慢性应激动物模型,通过Morris水迷宫测试小鼠空间学习记忆能力;采用免疫组织化学方法检测脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）在海马和前额叶皮层的表达．结果显示,与对照组相比,应激组小鼠的空间学习记忆能力明显下降（P〈0．01）;应激组小鼠海马CA1区、齿状回和前额叶皮层BDNF表达明显下降（P〈0．01）;停止应激后一周,应激组小鼠BDNF在各脑区的表达有一定恢复,但与对照组相比,仍有显著性差异（P〈0．05,P〈0．01）．结果表明,慢性应激导致小鼠空间学习记忆功能的损伤可能与BDNF表达的下调密切相关．     

fMRI evidence for objects as the units of attentional selection.

Contrasting theories of visual attention emphasize selection by spatial location, visual features (such as motion or colour) or whole objects. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test key predictions of the object-based theory, which proposes that pre-attentive mechanisms segment the visual array into discrete objects, groups, or surfaces, which serve as targets for visual attention. Subjects viewed stimuli consisting of a face transparently superimposed on a house, with one moving and the other stationary. In different conditions, subjects attended to the face, the house or the motion. The magnetic resonance signal from each subject's fusiform face area, parahippocampal place area and area MT/MST provided a measure of the processing of faces, houses and visual motion, respectively. Although all three attributes occupied the same location, attending to one attribute of an object (such as the motion of a moving face) enhanced the neural representation not only of that attribute but also of the other attribute of the same object (for example, the face), compared with attributes of the other object (for example, the house). These results cannot be explained by models in which attention selects locations or features, and provide physiological evidence that whole objects are selected even when only one visual attribute is relevant.     

基于移动点对象和事件的宗地时空变化表达

地籍管理中核心要素宗地的几何空间和属性信息具有典型的时空特性.以往宗地时空变化的研究主要集中在表达宗地的某一方面,对宗地所有属性和几何空间信息时空变化的表达需要加强.同时,移动对象理论在表达宗地时空变化的研究与应用还没有,且在表达多个对象间同步变化时仍需进一步研究.针对这2个问题,分析了宗地时空变化的类型,提出了基于移动点对象的单个宗地几何空间和属性(单一属性和权属)信息时空变化表达方法以及基于事件的多个宗地间时空变化表达方法,并研发了地籍宗地时空管理原型系统,验证了文中提出理论方法的可行性和有效性.     

Updating verbal and visuospatial working memory： Are the processes parallel？

The current study compared the processes of updating verbal and visuospatial working memory （WM） and examined the roles of central executive and slave systems in working memory updating tasks, by changing the number of items updated simultaneously to manipulate the load on central executive. Experiment 1 used the verbal WM updating task, and the results validated the efficiency of the paradigm to manipulate the load on central executive. Experiment 2 employed the verbal WM updating task, with the articulatory suppression task to interfere with the phonological loop. The results supported the study by Morris and Jones, revealing that the central executive system played an important role in the updating component of verbal WM, while the phonological loop was responsible for the serial recall component. Experiment 3 employed the visuospatial WM updating task, with the spatial tapping task to interfere with the visuospatial sketchpad. The results suggested that the visuospatial sketchpad and the central executive together dealt with the updating component, while the visuospatial sketchpad was responsible for the serial recall component by itself. These results are consistent with the findings that visuospatial sketchpad has close links with central executive, while the phonological loop is separated from the central executive. It suggests that updating visuospatial and verbal WM are not two parallel processes.     

The task dependent interaction of the deactivation regions

Although deactivation has been found frequently in former functional brain imaging researches, only recently has it become a focus of systematic study because of its not well understood physiological mechanism. However, most of the researches concentrated on the brain areas that would present deactivation, and, to our knowledge, the deactivation connectivity between these brain areas during the cognitive tasks has rarely been reported in literature. In this work, using the functional connectivity method WlCA （within-condition interregional covariance analysis）, we analyzed the deactivations in two different cognitive tasks symbol orientation and number comparison. The results revealed deactivations in the posterior cingulate, precuneus, anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex in both tasks. However, the interaction between the deactivated regions shows many differences. Our result further indicates that the potential implication of special deactivation connectivity may be related to the different task or attention resource. Further research is needed to clarify the exact reason.     

Altered brain response to verbal learning following sleep deprivation

The effects of sleep deprivation on the neural substrates of cognition are poorly understood. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure the effects of 35 hours of sleep deprivation on cerebral activation during verbal learning in normal young volunteers. On the basis of a previous hypothesis, we predicted that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) would be less responsive to cognitive demands following sleep deprivation. Contrary to our expectations, however, the PFC was more responsive after one night of sleep deprivation than after normal sleep. Increased subjective sleepiness in sleep-deprived subjects correlated significantly with activation of the PFC. The temporal lobe was activated after normal sleep but not after sleep deprivation; in contrast, the parietal lobes were not activated after normal sleep but were activated after sleep deprivation. Although sleep deprivation significantly impaired free recall compared with the rested state, better free recall in sleep-deprived subjects was associated with greater parietal lobe activation. These findings show that there are dynamic, compensatory changes in cerebral activation during verbal learning after sleep deprivation and implicate the PFC and parietal lobes in this compensation.     

Effect of updating training on fluid intelligence in children

Recent studies have indicated that working memory (WM) training can improve fluid intelligence.However,these earlier studies confused the impact of WM storage and central executive function on the effects of training.The current study used the running memory task to train the updating ability of 9-11 year-old children using a double-blind controlled design.The results revealed that children’s fluid intelligence was significantly improved by memory-updating training.Overall,our findings suggest that the increase in fluid intelligence achieved with WM training is related to improving central executive function.     

急性应激对小鼠空间学习记忆功能及脑内GDNF表达的影响

目的：探讨急性应激对小鼠空间学习记忆功能的影响及其机制。方法：采用足底电击的方法建立急性应激模型小鼠,通过Morris水迷宫实验观察小鼠空间学习记忆功能的变化;并且测定小鼠海马和前脑皮层胶质细胞源性神经营养因子的表达。结果：与对照组小鼠相比,在水迷宫实验中,急性应激组小鼠空间学习记忆显著提高（P〈0.05）;脑内海马CA1区、CA3区、齿状回和前脑皮层GDNF的表达明显增强（P〈0.01）。结论：急性应激使小鼠空间学习记忆功能的提高可能与GDNF表达的上调密切相关。     

Different time courses of learning-related activity in the prefrontal cortex and striatum

To navigate our complex world, our brains have evolved a sophisticated ability to quickly learn arbitrary rules such as 'stop at red'. Studies in monkeys using a laboratory test of this capacity--conditional association learning--have revealed that frontal lobe structures (including the prefrontal cortex) as well as subcortical nuclei of the basal ganglia are involved in such learning. Neural correlates of associative learning have been observed in both brain regions, but whether or not these regions have unique functions is unclear, as they have typically been studied separately using different tasks. Here we show that during associative learning in monkeys, neural activity in these areas changes at different rates: the striatum (an input structure of the basal ganglia) showed rapid, almost bistable, changes compared with a slower trend in the prefrontal cortex that was more in accordance with slow improvements in behavioural performance. Also, pre-saccadic activity began progressively earlier in the striatum but not in the prefrontal cortex as learning took place. These results support the hypothesis that rewarded associations are first identified by the basal ganglia, the output of which 'trains' slower learning mechanisms in the frontal cortex.     

冥想加工性别差异的神经机制 ——来自ERP的证据

采用事件相关电位(ERP)技术,记录52名大学生被试在听(正性和负性)冥想指导语的脑电波,探索冥想加工过程的神经机制与性别差异.以固定频率的声音作为线索诱发N2和P3成分,这2个成分作为探究刺激差异和注意力资源调配的标记分别在160 ms和240 ms的时间上观察到.结果表明:在正性冥想条件下,在前额叶皮层(PFC)中...     

基于CARIMA模型的PFC与GPC的等价性

建立了新型的模型预测控制方法——预测函数控制(PFC)与传统的广义预测控制(GPC)的联系.首先推导了基于含有色噪声的自回归增量滑动平均(CARIMA)模型的预测函数控制的控制律,然后通过选取不同的基函数获取PFC控制律的形式并与GPC控制律进行比较.从而证明了在一定的基函数的选取方式下,基于CARIMA模型的PFC算法和GPC算法是等价的.揭示了PFC与GPC两者之间深刻的内在联系,为PFC的工程应用提供了理论保证.     

Localization of a human system for sustained attention by positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomographic (PET) studies of human attention have begun to dissect isolable components of this complex higher brain function, including a midline attentional system in a region of the anterior cingulate cortex. The right hemisphere may play a special part in human attention; neglect, an important phenomenon associated with damage to attentional systems, is more severe, extensive and long-lasting after lesions to the right hemisphere. Here we use PET measurements of brain blood flow in healthy subjects to identify changes in regional brain activity during simple visual and somatosensory tasks of sustained attention or vigilance. We find localized increases in blood flow in the prefrontal and superior parietal cortex primarily in the right hemisphere, regardless of the modality or laterality of sensory input. The anterior cingulate was not activated during either task. These data localize the vigilance aspects of normal human attention to sensory stimuli, thereby clarifying the biology underlying asymmetries of attention to such stimuli that have been reported in clinical lesions.     

枳菊解郁汤对抑郁模型小鼠空间学习记忆及脑内bFGF的影响

目的：探讨枳菊解郁汤对抑郁模型小鼠空间学习记忆的影响及其机制。方法：采用多因素慢性不可预知应激源建立抑郁动物模型,并给予动物不同剂量枳菊解郁汤。通过Morris水迷宫实验,检测各组小鼠空间学习记忆能力的变化;采用免疫组织化学方法检测碱性成纤维细胞生长因子（bFGF）在脑内的表达。结果：抑郁模型组小鼠空间学习记忆能力明显下降（P〈0．05）;bFGF在前脑皮层和海马CA1,CA3及DG区的表达明显降低（P〈0．05）;与模型组小鼠相比,枳菊解郁汤中剂量组空间学习记忆能力明显增强（P〈0．05）;bFGF在海马的CA1、CA3和DG区及前脑皮层的表达明显增加（P〈0．05）。结论：枳菊解郁汤的抗抑郁作用可能与海马和前脑皮层bFGF表达的上调有关。     

工作记忆编码腹侧海马和内侧前额叶皮层局部场电位信号的相位同步分析

研究比较大鼠在静息状态下和工作记忆编码阶段腹侧海马和内侧前额叶皮层局部场电位相位同步的变化,分析相位在工作记忆任务相关信息处理中的作用机制。研究数据为6只SD大鼠静息状态和执行Y迷宫空间工作记忆任务时采集的腹侧海马和内侧前额叶皮层的局部场电位信号,计算两个脑区局部场电位信号之间的加权相位滞后指数值。研究结果表明,与静息状态相比,在工作记忆编码阶段,腹侧海马和内侧前额叶皮层之间的相位同步性在theta频段选择性地显著增加。腹侧海马和内侧前额叶皮层theta频段的相位同步是工作记忆编码阶段任务信息处理的一个作用机制。