Shadlen M N, Newsome W T
Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Jan 23;93(2):628-33. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.2.628.
The primate visual system offers unprecedented opportunities for investigating the neural basis of cognition. Even the simplest visual discrimination task requires processing of sensory signals, formation of a decision, and orchestration of a motor response. With our extensive knowledge of the primate visual and oculomotor systems as a base, it is now possible to investigate the neural basis of simple visual decisions that link sensation to action. Here we describe an initial study of neural responses in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of the cerebral cortex while alert monkeys discriminated the direction of motion in a visual display. A subset of LIP neurons carried high-level signals that may comprise a neural correlate of the decision process in our task. These signals are neither sensory nor motor in the strictest sense; rather they appear to reflect integration of sensory signals toward a decision appropriate for guiding movement. If this ultimately proves to be the case, several fascinating issues in cognitive neuroscience will be brought under rigorous physiological scrutiny.
灵长类动物的视觉系统为研究认知的神经基础提供了前所未有的机会。即使是最简单的视觉辨别任务也需要处理感觉信号、形成决策以及协调运动反应。基于我们对灵长类动物视觉和动眼系统的广泛了解，现在有可能研究将感觉与行动联系起来的简单视觉决策的神经基础。在此，我们描述了一项初步研究，该研究观察了警觉的猴子在辨别视觉显示中运动方向时，大脑皮层顶内沟外侧区（LIP）的神经反应。LIP神经元的一个子集携带高级信号，这些信号可能构成了我们任务中决策过程的神经关联。从最严格的意义上讲，这些信号既不是感觉信号也不是运动信号；相反，它们似乎反映了感觉信号朝着适合指导运动的决策进行整合。如果最终证明的确如此，那么认知神经科学中的几个引人入胜的问题将受到严格的生理学审查。
