title: Learning of anticipatory responses in single neurons of the human medial temporal lobe.
abstract: Neuronal processes underlying the formation of new associations in the human brain are not yet well understood. Here human participants, implanted with depth electrodes in the brain, learned arbitrary associations between images presented in an ordered, predictable sequence. During learning we recorded from medial temporal lobe (MTL) neurons that responded to at least one of the pictures in the sequence (the preferred stimulus). We report that as a result of learning, single MTL neurons show asymmetric shifts in activity and start firing earlier in the sequence in anticipation of their preferred stimulus. These effects appear relatively early in learning, after only 11 exposures to the stimulus sequence. The anticipatory neuronal responses emerge while the subjects became faster in reporting the next item in the sequence. These results demonstrate flexible representations that could support learning of new associations between stimuli in a sequence, in single neurons in the human MTL.
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Paul Sabatier, 31052 Toulouse, France.|CNRS, UMR 5549, Faculté de Médecine de Purpan, 31052 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Paul Sabatier, 31052 Toulouse, France.|CNRS, UMR 5549, Faculté de Médecine de Purpan, 31052 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poncet
authors.affiliation: Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5731-579X
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Self
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging &Neuromodeling Group, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Judith C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, VU University Medical Center, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging/Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Douw
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.|Department of Neurophysiology, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Dellen
authors.affiliation: Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland, Achterweg 5, 2103 SW Heemstede, The Netherlands.|Department of Neurology, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Claus
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Reijneveld
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Baayen
authors.affiliation: Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (KNAW), 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Psychiatry Department, Academic Medical Center, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pieter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Roelfsema
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult