The jennifer aniston neuron
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1
Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
We can easily recognize a person or an object in a fraction of a second even when seen under strikingly different conditions. How neurons are capable of creating such an invariant representation has been a hot topic of debate in Neuroscience. In epileptic patients candidates to surgery we analyzed the responses of neurons in the human medial temporal lobe to picture presentations. Several technical improvements led to the finding of 'abstract' neurons that fired selectively to different pictures of familiar individuals (e.g. Jennifer Aniston) and even to their written names. If time permits, I will also show that these responses follow conscious perception and that from the firing of these neurons it was possible to predict what the subjects were seeing far above chance. Finally, I will discuss the possible function of these neurons.
Keywords:
conscious perception,
neural activity
Conference:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011.
Presentation Type:
Symposium: Oral Presentation
Topic:
Symposium 7: From single neuron responses to neuronal population oscillations during vision and memory: new insights from human intracranial recordings
Citation:
Quian Quiroga
R
(2011). The jennifer aniston neuron.
Conference Abstract:
XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00044
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Received:
09 Nov 2011;
Published Online:
15 Nov 2011.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom, rqqg1@le.ac.uk