Anterior cingulate cortex encodes action-outcome associations in working memory
In a dynamic environment an action that satisfies a particular goal can often change. Hence, to select the most appropriate action, it becomes necessary to actively update remembered contingencies between actions and outcomes (AO associations). Two regions implicated in action selection are lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). While both regions connect to motor areas, only ACC receives strong inputs from areas processing reward, placing it in a better anatomical position to control outcome-guided action. To examine this, we trained a monkey to perform a task that required him to monitor AO contingencies on a trial-by-trial basis. The monkey performed two sequential movements, separated by a delay, each of which was rewarded with a specific juice (apple, orange or quinine) and then had to repeat the movement that was previously paired with his preferred juice. Thus, during the first delay, the monkey had to remember both the movement he made as well as the juice he received. We recorded the activity of 77 LPFC neurons and 84 ACC neurons during the performance of the task. In ACC, 24% of the neurons encoded which movement the monkey had made and 33% of the neurons encoded what juice the monkey had received. In contrast, in LPFC 40% of the neurons encoded the movement and 13% encoded the juice. These findings support the hypothesis that ACC rather than LPFC is important for the control of outcome-guided action.
Conference:
Computational and systems
neuroscience 2009, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, 26 Feb - 3 Mar, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Poster Presentations
Citation:
(2009). Anterior cingulate cortex encodes action-outcome associations in working memory.
Front. Syst. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
Computational and systems
neuroscience 2009.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.06.2009.03.013
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Received:
29 Jan 2009;
Published Online:
29 Jan 2009.