Dynamic Cortical Neural Activity Predicts Self-Guided Working Memory in Rats

Material below summarizes the article The Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex Exhibits Flexible Neural Activity States During the Performance of an Odor Span Task, published on March 4, 2019, in eNeuro and authored by Emanuela De Falco, Lei An, Ninglei Sun, Andrew J. Roebuck, Quentin Greba, Christopher C. Lapish, and John G. Howland.

Highlights

• Abrupt changes in neural activity patterns observed while rats performed a self-guided working memory task signaled the transition between task epochs and predicted performance on the task.

• Observed neural correlates of a “go” signal might be critical for signaling the transition from “explore” to “exploit” in foraging behaviors.

• Ongoing research will investigate whether the diverse patterns of neural activity observed are altered in brain disorders such as schizophrenia.

About the Contributors

Emanuela De Falco, PhD

Emanuela De Falco is a postdoctoral researcher in the Lapish Lab at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

John G. Howland, PhD

John Howland is a professor of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan, in Canada.