Vincent P Ferrera
Columbia University Health Sciences
Project start date: 1998-12-01
Project end date: 2015-01-31
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ATTENTION AND VOLUNTARY ACTION IN PREFRONTAL CORTEX
Vincent P Ferrera, Assistant Professor
New York State Psychiatric Institute
new York, Ny 10032
Grant 5R01MH059244-03 from National Institute Of Mental Health IRG: ZRG1
Abstract: This proposal is concerned with how the brain constructs its representation of visual space and how this representation is used in movement planning and control. There are many views on the relationship between visual-spatial awareness and voluntary action. One view is that what we perceive as a unitary awareness is nothing more than the sum total of a multitude of low-level sensory-motor programs interacting with the physical world. Another view is that the brain explicitly constructs a "mental workspace" or general purpose representation of space which is independent of any particular effector system, and that it uses this representation for motor planning. Attention and working memory are important components of this high-level spatial representation. What parts of the brain might be involving in forming such a representation? One promising candidate is area 46 of prefrontal cortex. Previous work has shown that area 46 neurons encode the locations of behaviorally relevant visual stimuli and hold these representations on-line during working memory tasks, including memory- guided saccade tasks. The current proposal examines the relationship between neuronal activity in area 46 and the programming of saccadic eye movements and visually-guided arm movements. Three experiments will address the following questions 1) Are area 46 neurons capable of providing the signals needed for saccade initiation and target selection? 2) Is the representation of space in area 46 stable and robust in the face of ongoing motor activity? 3) Can the activity of individual neurons in area 46 support the planning of more than one type of movement? The overall goal is to determine whether area 46 plays specific role in the planning and execution of particular movements or a more general role in providing a multi-purpose representation of space that can be used by several effector systems as well as guiding covert shifts of spatial attention. The issues dealt with in this proposal are of practical importance to sufferers of psychiatric disorders who lack the ability to maintain appropriate control over their actions, and also those who are unable to initiate or control voluntary movements due to Parkinson´s disease, stroke, epilepsy or other forms of neurological damage. The proposed experiments should provide useful information about the cognitive and motor function of prefrontal cortex. This will aid in the understanding of frontal lobe diseases such as schizophrenia and frontal lobe epilepsy
Keywords: attention, limb movement, motor neuron, neural information processing, prefrontal lobe /cortex, psychomotor function, saccade, space perception, visual perception brain electrical activity, cue, memory, stimulus /response, visual stimulus Macaca mulatta, electrical measurement, histology
Project start date: 1998-12-01
Project end date: 2003-11-30
5R01MH059244-03 (2001): $183484
5R01MH059244-02 (2000): $178628
5R01MH059244-05 (2003): $191448
5R01MH059244-10 (2008): $363656
5R01MH059244-09 (2007): $363607
5R01MH059244-08 (2006): $363557
5R01MH059244-07 (2005): $368414
Grants awarded to Vincent P Ferrera
ATTENTION AND VOLUNTARY ACTION IN PREFRONTAL CORTEX
Vincent P Ferrera, Assistant Professor
New York State Psychiatric Institute
new York, Ny 10032
Grant 1R01MH059244-01 from National Institute Of Mental Health IRG: ZRG1
Abstract: This proposal is concerned with how the brain constructs its representation of visual space and how this representation is used in movement planning and control. There are many views on the relationship between visual-spatial awareness and voluntary action. One view is that what we perceive as a unitary awareness is nothing more than the sum total of a multitude of low-level sensory-motor programs interacting with the physical world. Another view is that the brain explicitly constructs a "mental workspace" or general purpose representation of space which is independent of any particular effector system, and that it uses this representation for motor planning. Attention and working memory are important components of this high-level spatial representation. What parts of the brain might be involving in forming such a representation? One promising candidate is area 46 of prefrontal cortex. Previous work has shown that area 46 neurons encode the locations of behaviorally relevant visual stimuli and hold these representations on-line during working memory tasks, including memory- guided saccade tasks. The current proposal examines the relationship between neuronal activity in area 46 and the programming of saccadic eye movements and visually-guided arm movements. Three experiments will address the following questions 1) Are area 46 neurons capable of providing the signals needed for saccade initiation and target selection? 2) Is the representation of space in area 46 stable and robust in the face of ongoing motor activity? 3) Can the activity of individual neurons in area 46 support the planning of more than one type of movement? The overall goal is to determine whether area 46 plays specific role in the planning and execution of particular movements or a more general role in providing a multi-purpose representation of space that can be used by several effector systems as well as guiding covert shifts of spatial attention. The issues dealt with in this proposal are of practical importance to sufferers of psychiatric disorders who lack the ability to maintain appropriate control over their actions, and also those who are unable to initiate or control voluntary movements due to Parkinson´s disease, stroke, epilepsy or other forms of neurological damage. The proposed experiments should provide useful information about the cognitive and motor function of prefrontal cortex. This will aid in the understanding of frontal lobe diseases such as schizophrenia and frontal lobe epilepsy
Keywords: attention, limb movement, motor neuron, neural information processing, prefrontal lobe /cortex, psychomotor function, saccade, space perception, visual perception brain electrical activity, cue, memory, stimulus /response, visual stimulus Macaca mulatta, electrical measurement, histology
Project start date: 1998-12-01
Project end date: 2003-11-30
1R01MH059244-01 (1999): $188625
CATEGORICAL DECISION-MAKING IN FRONTO-STRIATAL CIRCUITS
Vincent P Ferrera, Associate Professor
Columbia University Health Sciences, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, Ny 10032-3702
Grant 2R01MH059244-11A2 from National Institute Of Mental Health
Abstract: This project investigates the interaction between reward and cognition. There is evidence that the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia work together to support reinforcement-based decision-making, and that psychoses may result from dysregulation of this circuitry. However, we know little about the physiological mechanisms through which brainstem reward systems might contribute to thought. We plan to address this by recording activity in prefrontal cortex and striatum during a categorical decision-making task. The central question addressed by this proposal is "How does knowledge about reward affect the representation of sensory evidence and decision criteria in the brain?" One process that contributes to flexible decision-making is stimulus categorization. Categorization affords a flexible linkage between sensory stimuli and motor responses. Categorization improves the efficiency of decision-making because responses that are appropriate for one member of a class often generalize to other stimuli in the same category. Categorization requires that attention be directed to critical stimulus features that identify stimuli as being in the same or different classes. Some categories are innate or overlearned. But in many cases category boundaries must shift "on the fly" to adapt to changes in the environment. We will present preliminary evidence that a fronto-striatal network is involved in categorical decision-making. In this project, we will investigate how reinforcement modulates activity in this network during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD). To function adaptively in the real world, animals and humans must constantly make choices that affect survival, reproduction, and the overall health and well-being of the organism. In this project, we will investigate how decision-outcomes modulate activity in fronto-striatal networks during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD)
Keywords: AD/HD; ADHD; Addiction, Drug; Address; Affect; Affective Psychosis, Bipolar; Animals; Area; Attention; Attention Deficit Disorder; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Attention-Deficit Disorder, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type; Autism; Autism, Early Infantile; Autism, Infantile; Autistic Disorder; Basal Ganglia; Basal Nuclei; Behavior; Behavioral; Bipolar Disorder; Brain; Brain Stem; Brainstem; Categories; Caudate Nucleus; Caudate nucleus structure; Cell Communication and Signaling; Cell Signaling; Cells; Chemical Dependence; Classification; Cognition; Cognitive; Corpus Striatum; Corpus striatum structure; Crows; Cues; D2 receptor; DRD2; DRD2 Receptor; Decision Making; Delusions; Dependence, Drug; Depression; Disease; Disorder; Dopamine D2 Receptor; Dorsal; Drug Addiction; Drug Dependency; Encephalon; Encephalons; Environment; Evolution; Feedback; Flies; Goals; Hallucinations; Health; Human; Human, General; Hyperactivity Disorder NOS; Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type; Hyperkinetic Syndrome; Intracellular Communication and Signaling; Kanner`s Syndrome; Knowledge; Learning; Link; Location; Man (Taxonomy); Man, Modern; Mental Depression; Monkeys; Motor; Movement; Nerve Cells; Nerve Unit; Nervous; Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System, Brain; Neural Cell; Neurocyte; Neurologic Disorders; Neurological Disorders; Neurons; Nucleus Caudatus; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis; Organism; Outcome; Overlearning; Overlearnings; Personal Satisfaction; Physiologic; Physiological; Play; Prefrontal Cortex; Process; Psychological reinforcement; Psychometric; Psychometrics; Psychoses; Psychosis, Manic-Depressive; Psychotic Disorders; Reinforcement; Reinforcement (Psychology); Reproduction; Rewards; Role; SCHED; Schedule; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Disorders; Sensory; Signal Transduction; Signal Transduction Systems; Signaling; Source; Specificity; Stimulus; Striate Body; Striatum; Structure; Symptoms; System; System, LOINC Axis 4; Systematics; Testing; Uncertainty; Work; ing; attention deficit hyperactive disorder; base; behavior test; behavioral test; biological signal transduction; bipolar affective disorder; body movement; caudate nucleus; dementia praecox; disease/disorder; doubt; flexibility; fly; frontal eye fields; improved; living system; manic depressive disorder; manic depressive illness; member; nervous system disorder; neural; neurological disease; neuronal; perceptual stimulus; physicochemical phenomena related to the senses; public health relevance; relating to nervous system; response; schizophrenic; sensory stimulus; social role; striatal; well-being
Relevance: To function adaptively in the real world, animals and humans must constantly make choices that affect survival, reproduction, and the overall health and well-being of the organism. In this project, we will investigate how decision-outcomes modulate activity in fronto-striatal networks during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD)
Project start date: 1998-12-01
Project end date: 2015-01-31
Budget start date: 15-APR-2010
Budget end date: 31-JAN-2011
PFA/PA: PA-07-070
2R01MH059244-11A2 (2010): $402063
Functional Imaging Of Decision Networks
Vincent P Ferrera, Assistant Professor
Neurosciencecolumbia University Health Sciences
columbia University Medical Center
new York, Ny 100323702
Grant 5R21MH073821-02 from National Institute Of Mental Health IRG: ZRG1
Abstract: The ability to make decisions based on categories is a fundamental component of higher-order cognition and is essential for survival. In the past decade, much progress in understanding categorical decision-making has been made through the combination of visual psychophysics and single-unit neurophysiology in awake, behaving monkeys. This work has led to a clearer understanding of decision networks in parietal, frontal and inferotemporal cortex. However, two very basic questions remain unresolved. First, how does activity in specific brain regions targeted by single unit studies relate to the overall pattern of brain activation when monkeys are engaged in decision-making tasks? What additional regions also are involved in processing such decisions, and what role do such regions play? Second, are results from non-human primates applicable to humans? Specifically, given identical psychophysical tasks, can we establish functional homology between human and non-human primate brains? To answer these questions, we propose to use functional magnetic resonance imaging in awake behaving monkeys to map brain regions that are activated during a perceptual categorization task, using a paradigm identical to one used with human subjects. The proposed experiments will open up a new avenue of research into cognitive processes that are dramatically impaired in schizophrenia, attention-deficit disorder, Parkinson´s disease, and Alzheimer´s disease
Keywords: central neural pathway /tract, corpus striatum, decision making, neural information processing association cortex, biochemical evolution, visual perception Primate, behavioral /social science research tag, functional magnetic resonance imaging, human subject, neuropsychological test
Project start date: 2007-02-01
Project end date: 2009-12-31
5R21MH073821-02 (2008): $201250
1R21MH073821-01A1 (2007): $241500
Attention And Voluntary Action In Prefrontal Cortex
Vincent P Ferrera, Assistant Professor
New York State Psychiatric Institute New York, Ny 10032
Grant 2R01MH059244-06 from National Institute Of Mental Health IRG: IFCN
Abstract: Prediction and planning are important aspects of behavior that involve computations performed in prefrontal cortex. Visually guided behavior generally occurs in a dynamic environment where objects in motion may be temporarily occluded by other objects. The ability to predict the future location of a moving target is important for controlling voluntary movements. Humans and monkeys are able to extrapolate target motion fairly accurately even when the target is rendered temporarily invisible. This ability may depend on attention and working memory interacting to maintain a dynamic mental representation of the invisible target. Because prefrontal cortex is involved in working memory, planning, and eye movement control, and also receives afferent projections from motion processing areas in visual cortex, we are motivated to investigate the role of prefrontal cortex in trajectory estimation. We plan three experiments to investigate the internal representation of target motion during trajectory estimation. First, we will use micro-stimulation to probe the updating of saccade plans during invisible target tracking. Second, we will perform quantitative visual receptive field mapping to track the locus of spatial attention during the task. Finally, we will use a match/non-match paradigm to determine if prefrontal neurons respond differently to predictable versus unexpected target motions. These experiments will shed light on the interaction of attention and working memory for short-range prediction.
Keywords: attention, neural information processing, prefrontal lobe /cortex, psychomotor function, saccade, space perception, visual perception, brain electrical activity, cue, memory, motor neuron, short term memory, stimulus /response, visual stimulus, Macaca mulatta, electrical measurement, histology
Project start date: 1998-12-01
Project end date: 2009-02-28
2R01MH059244-06 (2004): $373436