Neural correlates of working memory development in adolescent primates

Xin Zhou, Dantong Zhu, Xue-Lian Qi, Sihai Li, Samson G. King, Emilio Salinas, Terrence R. Stanford and Christos Constantinidis ()
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Xin Zhou: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Dantong Zhu: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Xue-Lian Qi: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Sihai Li: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Samson G. King: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Emilio Salinas: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Terrence R. Stanford: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Christos Constantinidis: Wake Forest School of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Working memory ability matures after puberty, in parallel with structural changes in the prefrontal cortex, but little is known about how changes in prefrontal neuronal activity mediate this cognitive improvement in primates. To address this issue, we compare behavioural performance and neurophysiological activity in monkeys as they transitioned from puberty into adulthood. Here we report that monkeys perform working memory tasks reliably during puberty and show modest improvement in adulthood. The adult prefrontal cortex is characterized by increased activity during the delay period of the task but no change in the representation of stimuli. Activity evoked by distracting stimuli also decreases in the adult prefrontal cortex. The increase in delay period activity relative to the baseline activity of prefrontal neurons is the best correlate of maturation and is not merely a consequence of improved performance. Our results reveal neural correlates of the working memory improvement typical of primate adolescence.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13423

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