The Goals Of Single Prefrontal Neurons

If you're having trouble setting goals, Genovesio et al. may be able to tell you where the problem resides. The authors examined prefrontal cortex (PF) neuronal activity in the encoding of previous and future goal selection. Monkeys were presented with three options for spatial goal selection, in the form of shapes on a video screen. In each trial, a complex visual cue accompanied the goals. On disappearance of the cue, the monkeys made a saccadic eye movement to the chosen goal. In each subsequent trial, the monkeys were trained to select a new spatial goal when the visual cue changed and to maintain the present goal when the visual cue was repeated. The authors found that discrete PF neuron populations were activated for previous versus future goals. Failure of these distinct networks that allow us to distinguish past and future goals means omissions, perseverations, and endless rechecking of previous tasks; sound familiar?

Aldo Genovesio, Peter J. Brasted, and Steven P. Wise

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The Goals Of Single Prefrontal Neurons