Research in macaque monkeys suggests that each region carries out a distinct functional role.
The latest findings by researchers at the Cognitive Brain Mapping Laboratory of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute and researchers at the Department of Experimental Psychology of the University of Oxford, published in Science this week, shed light on the nature of these functional differences.
The researchers trained fourteen macaque monkeys to carry out a behavioural task based on the Wisconsin card-sorting test, often referred to as a ‘frontal lobe’ test on the basis that patients with any sort of lesion on their frontal lobe tend to do badly at it. The impact on the macaque’s performance of lesions to five regions of the macaque prefrontal cortex was analyzed, results revealing that each region carries out a distinct functional role.
The discovery of these roles implies the existence of multiple functional components underlying seemingly inseparable high-level actions behaviours, unravelling the mystery of adaptive behaviour in primates. The findings may also prove useful in the understanding and treatment of mental diseases such as schizophrenia, which are thought to arise from a functional disorder in the prefrontal cortex.For more information, please contact
Saeko Okada | Research asia research news
Ion treatments for cardiac arrhythmia — Non-invasive alternative to catheter-based surgery
20.01.2017 | GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH
Seeking structure with metagenome sequences
20.01.2017 | DOE/Joint Genome Institute
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
20.01.2017 | Awards Funding
20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences