Johnston Kevin, Everling Stefan
Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5K8.
J Neurosci. 2006 Nov 29;26(48):12471-8. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4101-06.2006.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in the ability to perform complex behaviors requiring the implementation of cognitive control. A central supposition of models of prefrontal function is that the DLPFC engages control by selectively modulating the activity of target structures to which it is connected, but no studies in the primate have directly investigated DLPFC output signals. Here, we recorded the activity of DLPFC neurons identified as sending a direct projection to the superior colliculus, a midbrain oculomotor structure, while monkeys performed alternating blocks of trials in which they had to look toward a flashed peripheral stimulus (prosaccades) and trials in which they had to look away from the stimulus in the opposite direction (antisaccades). We report the first direct evidence that the primate DLPFC sends task-selective signals to a target structure. This supports the notion that the DLPFC orchestrates the activity of other brain areas in accordance with task requirements.
背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）与执行需要认知控制的复杂行为的能力有关。前额叶功能模型的一个核心假设是，DLPFC通过选择性地调节与其相连的目标结构的活动来进行控制，但在灵长类动物中尚无研究直接调查DLPFC的输出信号。在此，我们记录了被确定为直接投射到上丘（一种中脑动眼结构）的DLPFC神经元的活动，同时猴子进行交替的试验组，其中它们必须看向一个闪烁的外周刺激（顺向扫视），以及它们必须看向与刺激相反方向（逆向扫视）的试验组。我们报告了首个直接证据，即灵长类动物的DLPFC向一个目标结构发送任务选择性信号。这支持了DLPFC根据任务要求协调其他脑区活动的观点。
