2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Memory formation based on reward in inferior temporal cortex

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20700356
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Neurophysiology and muscle physiology
Research Institution	National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Principal Investigator	SUGASE Yasuko National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, ヒューマンライフテクノロジー研究部門, 主任研究員 (40357257)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2009
Keywords	認知 / 言語 / 記憶 / 情動 / 学習
Research Abstract	To investigate neuronal processing in perirhinal cortex during stimulus-stimulus-reward associations, we recorded single unit data from neurons in the perirhinal cortex using two monkeys performing bar-release response trials imbedded within a delayed conditioning paradigm. The neurons in the perirhinal cortex have signals about stimulus identity, predicted reward contingency, and memory for a preceding stimulus. The pattern cue elicited responses during the conditional association task were not simply related to physical stimulus characteristics. These results showed that most of the neurons had activity distinguishing the conditional association task, suggesting an important role of perirhinal cortex when stimulus-stimulus sequences lead to different reward outcomes.

(4 results)