title: Snakes elicit earlier, and monkey faces, later, gamma oscillations in macaque pulvinar neurons.
abstract: Gamma oscillations (30-80 Hz) have been suggested to be involved in feedforward visual information processing, and might play an important role in detecting snakes as predators of primates. In the present study, we analyzed gamma oscillations of pulvinar neurons in the monkeys during a delayed non-matching to sample task, in which monkeys were required to discriminate 4 categories of visual stimuli (snakes, monkey faces, monkey hands and simple geometrical patterns). Gamma oscillations of pulvinar neuronal activity were analyzed in three phases around the stimulus onset (Pre-stimulus: 500 ms before stimulus onset; Early: 0-200 ms after stimulus onset; and Late: 300-500 ms after stimulus onset). The results showed significant increases in mean strength of gamma oscillations in the Early phase for snakes and the Late phase for monkey faces, but no significant differences in ratios and frequencies of gamma oscillations among the 3 phases. The different periods of stronger gamma oscillations provide neurophysiological evidence that is consistent with other studies indicating that primates can detect snakes very rapidly and also cue in to faces for information. Our results are suggestive of different roles of gamma oscillations in the pulvinar: feedforward processing for images of snakes and cortico-pulvinar-cortical integration for images of faces.
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.|Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi, Vietnam.
authors: Quan Van
authors: QV
authors: Le
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Lynne A
authors: LA
authors: Isbell
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
authors: Jumpei
authors: J
authors: Matsumoto
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
authors: Van Quang
authors: VQ
authors: Le
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Nishimaru
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
authors: Etsuro
authors: E
authors: Hori
authors: Primate Center and Laboratory of Neurosciences and Behavior, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Brasília, CEP 70910-900, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.|Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Hospital, S-17176 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Rafael S
authors: RS
authors: Maior
authors: Primate Center and Laboratory of Neurosciences and Behavior, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biology, University of Brasília, CEP 70910-900, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.|University CEUMA, Neuroscience Research Coordenation, Campus Renascença, CEP 65.075-120 São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Tomaz
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
authors: Taketoshi
authors: T
authors: Ono
authors: System Emotional Science, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Sugitani 2630, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
authors: Hisao
authors: H
authors: Nishijo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D008251:Macaca; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception