“Network mechanisms underlying flexible retrieval of object memory in primates”

The temporal cortex in primates serves as a storehouse of visual long-term memory, and microcircuit mechanisms underpinning the retrieval of visual object memory has been identified in the macaque temporal cortex. In contrast, “flexible” retrieval of object memory has been assumed to require the prefrontal cortex that exerts top-down regulation of the microcircuits in the temporal cortex for that function. However, such network-level mechanisms underlying cognitive functions have not been examined at the resolution of single neurons, and especially it remains largely unknown how neuronal circuits with distinct spatial scales, i.e., microcircuits, cortical laminar circuits and interareal interactions, cooperatively work together at the single neuron level to form a unified network that implements a given cognitive function. In this research group, we examine the operational mechanism of the multi-scale network in the context of flexible retrieval of object memory by combining multiple single-unit recordings in macaques with both analytic and genetic approaches, which will dissect both the directed information flow in the fronto-temporal cortical network and its causal link to the flexible behavior.

 

 
Recent Publications
1. Hirabayashi, T., Takeuchi, D., Tamura, K., Miyashita, Y. (2013) Microcircuits for hierarchical elaboration of object coding across primate temporal areas. Science. 341: 191-195.
2. Hirabayashi, T., Takeuchi, D., Tamura, K., Miyashita, Y. (2013) Functional micro-circuit recruited during retrieval of object association memory in monkey perirhinal cortex. Neuron. 77: 192-203.
3. Hirabayashi, T., Tamura, K., Takeuchi, D., Takeda, M., Koyano, K.W., Miyashita, Y. (2014) Distinct neuronal interactions in anterior inferotemporal areas of macaque monkeys during retrieval of object association memory. J. Neurosci. 34: 9377-9388.

Posted:2016/03/10