Learning motivational significance of visual cues for reward schedules requires rhinal cortex.
The limbic system is necessary to associate stimuli with their motivational and emotional significance. The perirhinal cortex is directly connected to this system, and neurons in this region carry signals related to a monkey's progress through visually cued reward schedules. This task manipulates motivation by displaying different visual cues to indicate the amount of work remaining until reward delivery. We asked whether rhinal (that is, entorhinal and perirhinal) cortex is necessary to associate the visual cues with reward schedules. When faced with new visual cues in reward schedules, intact monkeys adjusted their motivation in the schedules, whereas monkeys with rhinal cortex removals failed to do so. Thus, the rhinal cortex is critical for forming associations between visual stimuli and their motivational significance.
Liu
Z
Z
Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Murray
E A
EA
Richmond
B J
BJ
D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D003714:Denervation / Q000009:adverse effects; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009042:Motivation; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012201:Reward; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology