Beyond the classic extinction network: a wider, comparative view
Abstract Extinction learning modifies the dynamics of brain circuits such that a previously learned conditioned response is no longer generated. The majority of extinction studies use fear conditioning in rodents and identified the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala as core regions of the extinction circuit. We sought to find answers to two questions: First, do we find a similar functional brain circuit in birds, which underwent a 300-million-year separate evolution from mammals? Second, do we have to incorporate the cerebellum as a key component of the central extinction circuit? We indeed show that the avian extinction pathways are not identical but highly similar to tho…
Working memory performance is tied to stimulus complexity
1. Summary Working memory is the cognitive capability to maintain and process information over short periods. Recent behavioral and computational studies have shown that increased visual information of the presented stimulus material is associated with enhanced working memory performance. However, the underlying neural correlates of this association are unknown. To identify how stimuli of different visual information levels affect working memory performance, we conducted behavioral experiments and single unit recordings in the avian analog of the prefrontal cortex, the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL). On the behavioral level, we confirmed that feature-rich complex stimuli demonstrated highe…
Neurons in the pigeon nidopallium caudolaterale signal the selection and execution of perceptual decisions
Sensory systems provide organisms with information on the current status of the environment, thus enabling adaptive behavior. The neural mechanisms by which sensory information is exploited for action selection are typically studied with mammalian subjects performing perceptual decision-making tasks, and most of what is known about these mechanisms at the single-neuron level is derived from cortical recordings in behaving monkeys. To explore the generality of neural mechanisms underlying perceptual decision making across species, we recorded single-neuron activity in the pigeon nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), a non-laminated associative forebrain structure thought to be functionally equiva…