Temporally Sustained Activity in Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Supports Decision Making
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1
University of California, Berkeley, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, United States
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2
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, United States
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3
University of California, San Francisco, Department of Neurology, Surgery, and Physiology, United States
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4
Stanford University, Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, United States
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5
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Psychology, United States
Decision-making relies on temporally coordinated activity across a network of cortical and subcortical brain regions, reflecting stimulus perception and evaluation as well as response selection, preparation and execution. The lateral PFC is a crucial node in decision-making networks, yet the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of activation within lateral PFC is not defined in humans. Capitalizing on the superb temporal and spatial resolution of direct cortical recordings from subdural electrodes (electrocorticography; ECoG), we identified specific temporal patterns of cortical activation and examined their spatial distribution. Subjects (n=18) performed a number of tasks graded in difficulty (7 total). Local field potential power in the broadband high gamma range (HG; 70-150Hz) indexed local cortical activity. Electrodes with significant HG increases over baseline (FDR adjusted p<0.05) were classified as task-active. Principal component analysis (PCA) with hierarchical clustering was used to identify consistent temporal patterns of HG activation. These patterns included transient stimulus- or response-locked activity as well as sustained activation from stimulus presentation through response execution. All cortical areas featured multiple patterns of HG activity, suggesting that temporally and spatially distributed network activity is required for successful goal-directed behavior. The majority of electrodes with sustained HG activity were in lateral PFC (72%), reflecting the central role of this region in information integration. Within lateral PFC, the majority of active sites (60%) exhibited sustained activity. The proportion of lateral PFC sites with sustained activity significantly increased with task difficulty (p<0.01), and the peak of HG activation at these sites predicted reaction times. We propose that temporally sustained activity in the lateral PFC reflects the critical role of this region in decision-making networks.
Keywords:
Prefrontal Cortex,
decision-making,
electrocorticography (ECoG),
broadband high gamma,
sustained activation
Conference:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Cognition and Executive Processes
Citation:
Haller
M,
Varma
P,
Rosenberg
LM,
Crone
NE,
Chang
EF,
Parvizi
J,
Knight
RT and
Shestyuk
AY
(2015). Temporally Sustained Activity in Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Supports Decision Making.
Conference Abstract:
XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00027
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Received:
19 Feb 2015;
Published Online:
24 Apr 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Ms. Matar Haller, University of California, Berkeley, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Berkeley, United States, matar@berkeley.edu