Attention and memory trials during neuronal recording from the primate pulvinar and posterior parietal cortex. Salzmann, E. Behavioral and Brain Research, 67(2):241-253, 1995.
abstract   bibtex   
Cynomolgus monkeys were trained on a delayed match-to-sample (DMS) task. Several controls were performed for the separation of memory effects from other factors such as attention, stimulus attributes and eye movements. One of the controls employed a standardised sequence of events ('window trial') during which a window in a black screen was opened and a face, an object or a picture was presented. Unit cell activity was recorded from 209 sites in the posterior parietal cortex (area PG) and 186 sites in the pulvinar. Some units responded during the presentation of the DMS stimuli, mostly those in that part of area PG located in the superior temporal sulcus. They often appeared to be related to the task-related state of attention. There was no indication of pure memory-related changes in activity such as sustained responses during the inter-stimulus interval or specific responses to the second stimulus that would indicate a dependence on the kind of the preceding stimulus. In the window trial, some parietal units, mostly in that part of area PG located in the intraparietal sulcus (a region termed area LIP), responded in a relatively specific manner during and sometimes even after, the presentation of a human face. The responses often seemed to be related to the animal's state of attention. Almost no pulvinar unit responded in this paradigm. It is concluded that area PG and, to a lesser extent, the pulvinar are involved in the modulation of attention in relation to behaviourally relevant changes in the environment. If these structures have a role in memory function, it must be secondary to a role in controlling or regulating attention.
@article{ Salzmann95,
  author = {Salzmann, E.},
  title = {Attention and memory trials during neuronal recording from the primate
	pulvinar and posterior parietal cortex},
  journal = {Behavioral and Brain Research},
  year = {1995},
  volume = {67},
  pages = {241-253},
  number = {2},
  abstract = {Cynomolgus monkeys were trained on a delayed match-to-sample (DMS)
	task. Several controls were performed for the separation of memory
	effects from other factors such as attention, stimulus attributes
	and eye movements. One of the controls employed a standardised sequence
	of events ('window trial') during which a window in a black screen
	was opened and a face, an object or a picture was presented. Unit
	cell activity was recorded from 209 sites in the posterior parietal
	cortex (area PG) and 186 sites in the pulvinar. Some units responded
	during the presentation of the DMS stimuli, mostly those in that
	part of area PG located in the superior temporal sulcus. They often
	appeared to be related to the task-related state of attention. There
	was no indication of pure memory-related changes in activity such
	as sustained responses during the inter-stimulus interval or specific
	responses to the second stimulus that would indicate a dependence
	on the kind of the preceding stimulus. In the window trial, some
	parietal units, mostly in that part of area PG located in the intraparietal
	sulcus (a region termed area LIP), responded in a relatively specific
	manner during and sometimes even after, the presentation of a human
	face. The responses often seemed to be related to the animal's state
	of attention. Almost no pulvinar unit responded in this paradigm.
	It is concluded that area PG and, to a lesser extent, the pulvinar
	are involved in the modulation of attention in relation to behaviourally
	relevant changes in the environment. If these structures have a role
	in memory function, it must be secondary to a role in controlling
	or regulating attention.},
  en_number = { }
}

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