Explicating the neurobiological basis of cognitive functions such as visual short term memory has been a long standing goal of scientific research because it is essential for understanding normal cognitive functions and treating brain disorders that can devastate the ability to think and act. The proposed experiments will investigate the role of two brain areas, the posterior parietal and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in cognitive functions, relying on a non-human primate model. We will comparatively investigate the single-neuron and population responses in these two areas, with respect to visual short-term memory capacity, the influence of each brain area to memory involved behavior, and their functional plasticity as a result of training in short term memory tasks. These studies will help unveil the functional specialization of cortical areas involved in higher cognitive functions and offer insighs on normal cognitive processing as well as the consequences of brain injury and mental illness.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research will rely on a non-human primate model to determine the role and functional specialization of two areas of the cerebral cortex involved in the processing of visual spatial information, the posterior parietal and dorsal prefrontal cortex. Such understanding of the organization and function of cortical areas mediating higher cognitive processes is critical for ameliorating the effects of brain injury and mental disorders that can devastate one's ability to think and act.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY016773-06
Application #
9148178
Study Section
Mechanisms of Sensory, Perceptual, and Cognitive Processes Study Section (SPC)
Program Officer
Flanders, Martha C
Project Start
2005-06-01
Project End
2018-09-29
Budget Start
2016-09-30
Budget End
2017-09-29
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$384,390
Indirect Cost
$134,390
Name
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
937727907
City
Winston-Salem
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27157
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Riley, Mitchell R; Qi, Xue-Lian; Zhou, Xin et al. (2018) Anterior-posterior gradient of plasticity in primate prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 9:3790
Constantinidis, Christos; Funahashi, Shintaro; Lee, Daeyeol et al. (2018) Persistent Spiking Activity Underlies Working Memory. J Neurosci 38:7020-7028
Constantinidis, Christos; Qi, Xue-Lian (2018) Representation of Spatial and Feature Information in the Monkey Dorsal and Ventral Prefrontal Cortex. Front Integr Neurosci 12:31
Zhou, Xin; Constantinidis, Christos (2017) Fixation target representation in prefrontal cortex during the antisaccade task. J Neurophysiol 117:2152-2162
Tang, Hua; Riley, Mitchell R; Constantinidis, Christos (2017) Lateralization of Executive Function: Working Memory Advantage for Same Hemifield Stimuli in the Monkey. Front Neurosci 11:532
Zhou, Xin; Qi, Xue-Lian; Constantinidis, Christos (2016) Distinct Roles of the Prefrontal and Posterior Parietal Cortices in Response Inhibition. Cell Rep 14:2765-73
Qi, Xue-Lian; Constantinidis, Christos (2015) Lower neuronal variability in the monkey dorsolateral prefrontal than posterior parietal cortex. J Neurophysiol 114:2194-203
Qi, Xue-Lian; Elworthy, Anthony C; Lambert, Bryce C et al. (2015) Representation of remembered stimuli and task information in the monkey dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex. J Neurophysiol 113:44-57
Riley, Mitchell R; Constantinidis, Christos (2015) Role of Prefrontal Persistent Activity in Working Memory. Front Syst Neurosci 9:181

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