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A role for inhibition in shaping the temporal flow of information in prefrontal cortex

Nature Neuroscience volume 5, pages 175–180 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The prefrontal cortex is important in guiding or inhibiting future responses, which requires the temporal integration of events and which provides continuity to the thought process. No cellular mechanism has been proposed to explain how the mental representation of a response or idea is linked to the next. Using simultaneous recordings in monkeys, we revealed inhibitory interactions between neurons active at different time points relative to the cue presentation, delay interval and response period of a working memory task. These findings suggest an important role of inhibition in the cerebral cortex—controlling the timing of neuronal activities during cognitive operations and thereby shaping the temporal flow of information.

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Figure 1: Inhibitory interaction between two neurons recorded from separate electrodes.
Figure 2: Inhibitory interactions between two neurons recorded from the same electrode.
Figure 3: Neurons showing inhibition were maximally active at different time intervals.
Figure 4: Inhibitory CCH changes among the entire population of neurons.
Figure 5: Peri-stimulus cross-correlation histogram (PSCCH).

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank S. Rao and M. Franowicz, who participated in these experiments. This research was supported by NIH grant MH38546 to P.S.G.-R. and a McDonnell-Pew Program in Cognitive Neuroscience Award to C.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 208001, 333 Cedar Street, SHM B404, New Haven, 06520-8001, Connecticut, USA

    Christos Constantinidis, Graham V. Williams & Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic

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Correspondence to Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic.

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Constantinidis, C., Williams, G. & Goldman-Rakic, P. A role for inhibition in shaping the temporal flow of information in prefrontal cortex. Nat Neurosci 5, 175–180 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn799

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