Increased firing irregularity as an emergent property of neural-state transition in monkey prefrontal cortex.

ABSTRACT: Flexible behaviors are organized by complex neural networks in the prefrontal cortex. Recent studies have suggested that such networks exhibit multiple dynamical states, and can switch rapidly from one state to another. In many complex systems such as the brain, the early-warning signals that may predict whether a critical threshold for state transitions is approaching are extremely difficult to detect. We hypothesized that increases in firing irregularity are a crucial measure for predicting state transitions in the underlying neuronal circuits of the prefrontal cortex. We used both experimental and theoretical approaches to test this hypothesis. Experimentally, we analyzed activities of neurons in the prefrontal cortex while monkeys performed a maze task that required them to perform act

SUBMITTER: Sakamoto K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3857743 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature