title: Neural correlates of interval timing in rodent prefrontal cortex.
abstract: Time interval estimation is involved in numerous behavioral processes, but its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. In particular, it has been controversial whether time is encoded on a linear or logarithmic scale. Based on our previous finding that inactivation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) profoundly impairs rat's ability to discriminate time intervals, we investigated how the mPFC processes temporal information by examining activity of mPFC neurons in rats performing a temporal bisection task. Many mPFC neurons conveyed temporal information based on monotonically changing activity profiles over time with negative accelerations, so that their activity profiles were better described by logarithmic than linear functions. Moreover, the precision of time-interval discrimination based on neural activity was lowered in proportion to the elapse of time, but without proportional increase in neural variability, which is well accounted for by logarithmic, but not by linear functions. As a population, mPFC neurons conveyed precise information about the elapse of time with their activity tightly correlated with the animal's choice of target. These results suggest that the mPFC might be part of an internal clock in charge of controlling interval-timing behavior, and that linearly changing neuronal activity on a logarithmic time scale might be one way of representing the elapse of time in the brain.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea.
authors: Jieun
authors: J
authors: Kim
authors: Jeong-Wook
authors: JW
authors: Ghim
authors: Ji Hyun
authors: JH
authors: Lee
authors: Min Whan
authors: MW
authors: Jung
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2006 May;23(10):2779-90
references: 16817881
references: Nature. 2001 Aug 2;412(6846):546-9
references: 11484055
references: Cereb Cortex. 2001 May;11(5):441-51
references: 11313296
references: Neuroscience. 2006 Apr 28;139(1):119-33
references: 16326020
references: Behav Neurosci. 2003 Aug;117(4):760-73
references: 12931961
references: Neuron. 2003 Apr 24;38(2):317-27
references: 12718864
references: Neuroimage. 2001 Jan;13(1):37-45
references: 11133307
references: J Neurophysiol. 2007 Jul;98(1):303-16
references: 17507507
references: Nature. 2000 Nov 16;408(6810):361-5
references: 11099043
references: J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1976 Apr;90(4):343-52
references: 1270643
references: Neuroimage. 2006 Aug 1;32(1):307-15
references: 16624580
references: Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Jul;12(7):273-80
references: 18539519
references: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1997 Apr;7(2):170-84
references: 9142762
references: Behav Processes. 2006 Jun 1;72(3):207-14
references: 16621331
references: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1996 Dec;6(6):851-7
references: 9000026
references: Neuropsychologia. 2007 Jan 28;45(2):321-31
references: 16934301
references: Brain Cogn. 2002 Feb;48(1):195-211
references: 11812042
references: J Exp Anal Behav. 1999 Mar;71(2):215-51
references: 10220931
references: Neurology. 2003 Jun 10;60(11):1844-6
references: 12796547
references: J Neurophysiol. 2009 Jun;101(6):2859-71
references: 19339463
references: Behav Processes. 1999 Apr;45(1-3):3-21
references: 24897524
references: Neuropsychologia. 2003;41(12):1583-92
references: 12887983
references: PLoS Biol. 2012;10(10):e1001413
references: 23118614
references: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2008 Apr;18(2):137-44
references: 18692573
references: J Neurosci Methods. 1980 Dec;3(2):129-49
references: 6110810
references: J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process. 1982 Apr;8(2):165-86
references: 7069377
references: Neuron. 2003 Sep 25;40(1):177-88
references: 14527442
references: J Neurosci. 2010 Jan 6;30(1):350-60
references: 20053916
references: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2003 Apr;13(2):250-5
references: 12744981
references: J Neurosci. 2009 Nov 25;29(47):14701-12
references: 19940165
references: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1998 Jul;7(1):15-39
references: 9714713
references: J Exp Anal Behav. 1999 Mar;71(2):264-71; discussion 293-301
references: 10366312
references: J Neurophysiol. 2008 Feb;99(2):939-49
references: 18094101
references: Exp Brain Res. 2004 Oct;158(3):366-72
references: 15365666
references: Front Behav Neurosci. 2009 Nov 03;3:38
references: 19915730
references: J Neurophysiol. 2008 Jan;99(1):166-86
references: 18003881
references: Annu Rev Neurosci. 2004;27:307-40
references: 15217335
references: Neuron. 2010 May 13;66(3):449-60
references: 20471357
references: Int J Neurosci. 1997 Aug;90(3-4):255-69
references: 9352431
references: Nat Neurosci. 2009 Apr;12(4):502-7
references: 19252498
references: J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process. 1981 Jul;7(3):242-68
references: 7252428
references: Behav Neurosci. 1998 Oct;112(5):1043-7
references: 9829782
references: Cereb Cortex. 2001 Mar;11(3):210-22
references: 11230093
references: Behav Neurosci. 2011 Feb;125(1):54-73
references: 21319888
references: Neuron. 2009 Jul 30;63(2):254-66
references: 19640483
references: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009 Jul 12;364(1525):1907-18
references: 19487193
references: J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process. 1977 Jul;3(3):216-28
references: 881613
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2004 Aug;20(4):1069-80
references: 15305876
references: Neuron. 2011 Aug 25;71(4):737-49
references: 21867888
references: Behav Processes. 2009 Jun;81(2):274-9
references: 19007867
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2005 Oct;6(10):755-65
references: 16163383
references: J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process. 1981 Apr;7(2):87-107
references: 7241054
references: J Neurosci. 2006 Dec 20;26(51):13143-55
references: 17182765
references: Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2007 Sep;60(9):1289-302
references: 17676559
references: J Neurosci. 2011 Feb 23;31(8):2828-34
references: 21414904