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Single neurons in prefrontal cortex encode abstract rules

Nature volume 411, pages 953–956 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The ability to abstract principles or rules from direct experience allows behaviour to extend beyond specific circumstances to general situations. For example, we learn the ‘rules’ for restaurant dining from specific experiences and can then apply them in new restaurants. The use of such rules is thought to depend on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) because its damage often results in difficulty in following rules1. Here we explore its neural basis by recording from single neurons in the PFC of monkeys trained to use two abstract rules. They were required to indicate whether two successively presented pictures were the same or different depending on which rule was currently in effect. The monkeys performed this task with new pictures, thus showing that they had learned two general principles that could be applied to stimuli that they had not yet experienced. The most prevalent neuronal activity observed in the PFC reflected the coding of these abstract rules.

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Figure 1: The behavioural task.
Figure 2: A neuron exhibiting rule selectivity.
Figure 3: Distribution of the magnitude of rule effect.
Figure 4: Location of neurons showing rule or object selectivity in either the delay or sample.

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Acknowledgements

We thank W. Asaad, D. Freedman, C. Kiddoo, M. Warden and M. Wicherski for valuable comments. This work was supported by a NINDS grant, a NIMH Conti Center grant, the RIKEN-MIT Neuroscience Research Center and the Class of 1956 Chair (E.K.M.). J.D.W. was supported by the Wellcome Trust.

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  1. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Learning and Memory, RIKEN-MIT Neuroscience Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Jonathan D. Wallis, Kathleen C. Anderson & Earl K. Miller

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  1. Jonathan D. Wallis
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Correspondence to Earl K. Miller.

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Wallis, J., Anderson, K. & Miller, E. Single neurons in prefrontal cortex encode abstract rules. Nature 411, 953–956 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35082081

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