Functional connectivity between Layer 2/3 and Layer 5 neurons in prefrontal cortex of nonhuman primates during a delayed match-to-sample task.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been postulated to play critical roles in cognitive control and the formation of long-term memories. To gain insights into the neurobiological mechanism of such high-order cognitive functions, it is important to understand the input-output transformational properties of the PFC micro-circuitry. In this study, we identify the functional connectivity between the Layer 2/3 (input) neurons and the Layer 5 (output) neurons using a previously developed generalized Volterra model (GVM). Input-output spike trains are recorded from the PFCs of nonhuman primates performing a memory-dependent delayed match-to-sample task with a customized conformal ceramic multi-electrode array. The GVM describes how the input spike trains are transformed into the output spike trains by the PFC micro-circuitry and represents the transformation in the form of Volterra kernels. Results show that Layer 2/3 neurons have strong and transient facilitatory effects on the firings of Layer 5 neurons. The magnitude and temporal range of the input-output nonlinear dynamics are strikingly different from those of the hippocampal CA3-CA1. This form of functional connectivity may have important implications to understanding the computational principle of the PFC.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Center for Neural Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. dsong@usc.edu
Dong
D
Song
Ioan
I
Opris
Rosa H M
RH
Chan
Vasilis Z
VZ
Marmarelis
Robert E
RE
Hampson
Sam A
SA
Deadwyler
Theodore W
TW
Berger
D000818:Animals; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D011323:Primates