scholarly journals Inactivation of medial frontal cortex changes risk preference

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomo Chen ◽  
Veit Stuphorn
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Risk Preference ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex ◽  
Supplementary Eye Field ◽  
Decisions Under Risk ◽  
High Reward ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Eye Field ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Cortical Regions

SummaryHumans and other animals need to make decisions under varying degrees of uncertainty. These decisions are strongly influenced by an individual’s risk preference, however the neuronal circuitry by which risk preference shapes choice is still unclear [1]. Supplementary eye field (SEF), an oculomotor area within primate medial frontal cortex, is thought to be an essential part of the neuronal circuit underlying oculomotor decision-making, including decisions under risk [2–5]. Consistent with this view, risk-related action value and monitoring signals have been observed in SEF [6–8]. However, such activity has also been observed in other frontal areas, including orbitofrontal [9–11], cingulate [12–14], and dorsal lateral frontal cortex [15]. It is thus unknown whether the activity in SEF causally contributes to risky decisions, or if it is merely a reflection of neural processes in other cortical regions. Here, we tested a causal role of SEF in risky oculomotor choices. We found that SEF inactivation strongly reduced the frequency of risky choices. This reduction was largely due to a reduced attraction to reward uncertainty and high reward gain, but not due to changes in the subjective estimation of reward probability or average expected reward. Moreover, SEF inactivation also led to increased sensitivity to differences between expected and actual reward during free choice. Nevertheless, it did not affect adjustments of decisions based on reward history.

scholarly journals Relation of ordinal position signals to the expectation of reward and passage of time in four areas of the macaque frontal cortex

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 2547-2559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara K. Berdyyeva ◽  
Carl R. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Ordinal Position ◽  
Successive Stage ◽  
Motor Area ◽  
Elapsed Time ◽  
Supplementary Eye Field ◽  
Order Task ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Eye Field

Neurons in several areas of the monkey frontal cortex exhibit rank selectivity, firing differentially as a function of the stage attained during the performance of a serial order task. The activity of these neurons is commonly thought to represent ordinal position within the trial. However, they might also be sensitive to factors correlated with ordinal position including time elapsed during the trial (which is greater for each successive stage) and the degree of anticipation of reward (which probably increases at each successive stage). To compare the influences of these factors, we monitored neuronal activity in the supplementary motor area (SMA), presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA), supplementary eye field (SEF), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the performance of a serial order task (requiring a series of saccades in three specified directions), a variable reward task (in which a cue displayed early in the trial indicated whether the reward received at the end of the trial would be large or small), and a long delay task (in which the monkey had simply to maintain fixation during a period of time approximating the duration of an average trial in the serial order task). We found that rank signals were partially correlated with sensitivity to elapsed time and anticipated reward. The connection to elapsed time was strongest in the pre-SMA. The connection to anticipated reward was most pronounced in the SMA and SEF. However, critically, these factors could not fully explain rank selectivity in any of the areas tested.

scholarly journals Neural Mechanisms for Executive Control of Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Reppert ◽  
Richard P. Heitz ◽  
Jeffrey D. Schall
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Error Detection ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex ◽  
List Type ◽  
Timing Errors ◽  
Supplementary Eye Field ◽  
Speed Accuracy ◽  
Accuracy Tradeoff

SUMMARYThe balance of speed with accuracy requires error detection and performance adaptation. To date, neural concomitants of these processes have been investigated only with noninvasive measures. To provide the first neurophysiological description, macaque monkeys performed visual search under cued speed accuracy tradeoff (SAT). Monkeys changed SAT emphasis immediately after a cued switch while neuron discharges were sampled in medial frontal cortex area supplementary eye field (SEF). A multiplicity of SEF neurons signaled production of choice errors and timing errors. Modulation of SEF activity after choice errors predicted production of un-rewarded corrective saccades. Modulation of activity after timing errors signaled reward prediction error. Adaptation of performance during SAT of visual search was accomplished through pronounced changes in neural state from before search array presentation until after reward delivery. These results contextualize previous findings using noninvasive measures, complement neurophysiological findings in visuomotor structures, endorse the role of medial frontal cortex as a critic relative to the actor instantiated in visuomotor structures, and extend our understanding of the distributed neural mechanisms of SAT.HIGHLIGHTSMedial frontal cortex enables post-error adjustment during SATChoice and timing errors were signaled by partially overlapping neural poolsMedial frontal cortex can proactively modulate visuomotor processesMedial frontal cortex is to visuomotor circuits as critic to actor

scholarly journals Rank Signals in Four Areas of Macaque Frontal Cortex During Selection of Actions and Objects in Serial Order

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara K. Berdyyeva ◽  
Carl R. Olson
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Motor Area ◽  
Moderate Degree ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Supplementary Eye Field ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Eye Field ◽  
Selection Of

Neurons in several areas of monkey frontal cortex exhibit ordinal position (rank) selectivity during the performance of serial order tasks. It has been unclear whether rank selectivity or the dependence of rank selectivity on task context varies across the areas of frontal cortex. To resolve this issue, we recorded from neurons in the supplementary motor area (SMA), presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA), supplementary eye field (SEF), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as monkeys performed two oculomotor tasks, one requiring the selection of three actions in sequence and the other requiring the selection of three objects in sequence. We found that neurons representing all ranks were present in all areas. Only to a moderate degree did the prevalence and nature of rank selectivity vary from area to area. The two most prominent inter-area differences involved a lower prevalence of rank selectivity in the dlPFC than in the other areas and a higher proportion of neurons preferring late ranks in the SMA and SEF than in the other areas. Neurons in all four areas are rank generalists in the sense of favoring the same rank in both the serial action task and the serial object task.

scholarly journals Inactivation of Medial Frontal Cortex Changes Risk Preference

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (22) ◽  
pp. 3709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomo Chen ◽  
Veit Stuphorn
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Risk Preference ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex

scholarly journals Oxytocin enhances resting-state connectivity between amygdala and medial frontal cortex

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Sekhar Sripada ◽  
K. Luan Phan ◽  
Izelle Labuschagne ◽  
Robert Welsh ◽  
Pradeep J. Nathan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Cognition And Emotion ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Cognitive Behaviours

Abstract The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays an important role in complex socio-affective behaviours such as affiliation, attachment, stress and anxiety. Previous studies have focused on the amygdala as an important target of OXT's effects. However, the effects of OXT on connectivity of the amygdala with cortical regions such as medial frontal cortex, an important mediator of social cognition and emotion regulation, remain unexplored. In a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, 15 volunteers received intranasal OXT or placebo prior to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. OXT significantly increased connectivity between both amygdalae and rostral medial frontal cortex (rmFC), while having only negligible effects on coupling with other brain regions. These results demonstrate that OXT is a robust and highly selective enhancer of amygdala connectivity with rmFC, a region critical to social cognition and emotion regulation, and add to our understanding of the neural mechanisms by which OXT modulates complex social and cognitive behaviours.

The Effects of Microstimulation of the Dorsomedial Frontal Cortex on Saccade Latency

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 1857-1870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun-nan Yang ◽  
Stephen J. Heinen ◽  
Marcus Missal
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Saccade Latency ◽  
Saccade Target ◽  
Electrical Microstimulation ◽  
Supplementary Eye Field ◽  
Dorsomedial Frontal Cortex ◽  
Eye Field ◽  
Movement Field ◽  
Contralateral Movement

Neural regions in the dorsomedial frontal cortex (DMFC), including the supplementary eye field (SEF) and the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA), are likely candidates for generating top-down control of saccade target selection. To investigate this, we applied electrical microstimulation to these structures while saccades were being planned to visual targets. Stimulation administered to superficial and lateral DMFC sites that were within or close to the SEF delayed ipsilateral and facilitated contralateral saccades. Facilitation was limited to saccades made toward targets in a narrow, contralateral movement field that had endpoints consistent with the goal of evoked saccades. Facilitation occurred with current delivered before target onset and delay with current applied after this time. Stimulation at deeper, medial sites that encompassed the pre-SMA resulted in mostly bilateral delay. The amount of delay at these sites was usually greater for ipsilateral saccades and increased with current amplitude. Changes in saccade latency were not accompanied by altered endpoint, trajectory, or peak velocity. The spatial specificity of SEF stimulation in inducing latency changes suggests that the SEF participates in selecting saccade goals. The less specific delay with pre-SMA stimulation suggests that it is involved in postponing visually guided saccades, thus likely permitting other oculomotor structures to select saccade goals.

scholarly journals Inactivation of Medial Frontal Cortex Changes Risk Preference

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (19) ◽  
pp. 3114-3122.e4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomo Chen ◽  
Veit Stuphorn
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Risk Preference ◽  
Medial Frontal Cortex
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