Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5K8.
Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5W9.
Nat Commun. 2017 Feb 7;8:13967. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13967.
The frontal eye fields (FEFs) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are commonly coactivated for cognitive saccade tasks, but whether this joined activation indexes coordinated activity underlying successful guidance of sensorimotor mapping is unknown. Here we test whether ACC and FEF circuits coordinate through phase synchronization of local field potential and neural spiking activity in macaque monkeys performing memory-guided and pro- and anti-saccades. We find that FEF and ACC showed prominent synchronization at a 3-9 Hz theta and a 12-30 Hz beta frequency band during the delay and preparation periods with a strong Granger-causal influence from ACC to FEF. The strength of theta- and beta-band coherence between ACC and FEF but not variations in power predict correct task performance. Taken together, the results support a role of ACC in cognitive control of frontoparietal networks and suggest that narrow-band theta and to some extent beta rhythmic activity indexes the coordination of relevant information during periods of enhanced control demands.
额眼区（FEFs）和前扣带皮层（ACC）通常在认知性眼球扫视任务中共同激活，但这种联合激活是否反映了成功引导感觉运动映射的协调活动尚不清楚。在这里，我们通过在执行记忆引导和正、反扫视的猕猴中记录局部场电位和神经放电活动的相位同步，测试 ACC 和 FEF 回路是否协调。我们发现，在延迟和准备期间，FEF 和 ACC 在 3-9 Hz 的 theta 频段和 12-30 Hz 的 beta 频段表现出显著的同步，并且 ACC 对 FEF 的格兰杰因果影响很强。ACC 和 FEF 之间的 theta 频段和 beta 频段相干性的强度而不是功率的变化可以预测任务的正确执行。总之，这些结果支持了 ACC 在额顶叶网络认知控制中的作用，并表明窄带 theta 和在一定程度上 beta 节律活动指标在增强控制需求期间协调相关信息。
