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Global and fine information coded by single neurons in the temporal visual cortex

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  • Yasuko Sugase

    (Electrotechnical Laboratory
    National Institute of Bioscience and Human-technology
    Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo
    National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology)

  • Shigeru Yamane

    (Electrotechnical Laboratory)

  • Shoogo Ueno

    (Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo)

  • Kenji Kawano

    (Electrotechnical Laboratory)

Abstract

When we see a person's face, we can easily recognize their species, individual identity and emotional state. How does the brain represent such complex information? A substantial number of neurons in the macaque temporal cortex respond to faces1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying the processing ofcomplex information are not yet clear. Here we recorded the activity of single neurons in the temporal cortex of macaque monkeys while presenting visual stimuli consisting of geometric shapes, and monkey and human faces with various expressions. Information theory was used to investigate how well the neuronal responses could categorize the stimuli. We found that single neurons conveyed two different scales of facial information intheir firing patterns, starting at different latencies. Global information, categorizing stimuli as monkey faces, human faces or shapes, was conveyed in the earliest part of the responses. Fineinformation about identity or expression was conveyed later,beginning on average 51 ms after global information. We speculate that global information could be used as a ‘header’ to prepare destination areas for receiving more detailed information.

Suggested Citation

  • Yasuko Sugase & Shigeru Yamane & Shoogo Ueno & Kenji Kawano, 1999. "Global and fine information coded by single neurons in the temporal visual cortex," Nature, Nature, vol. 400(6747), pages 869-873, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:400:y:1999:i:6747:d:10.1038_23703
    DOI: 10.1038/23703
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    Cited by:

    1. Elena Krugliakova & Alexey Gorin & Anna Shestakova & Vasily Klucharev, 2015. "Short-Term Plasticity in Auditory Cortical Circuit Evoked by Monetary Incentive Delay Task," HSE Working papers WP BRP 55/PSY/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    2. Nicolas Burra & Dirk Kerzel & Nathalie George, 2016. "Early Left Parietal Activity Elicited by Direct Gaze: A High-Density EEG Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Tomoki Kurikawa & Kunihiko Kaneko, 2016. "Dynamic Organization of Hierarchical Memories," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Yasuhiro Tsubo & Yoshikazu Isomura & Tomoki Fukai, 2012. "Power-Law Inter-Spike Interval Distributions Infer a Conditional Maximization of Entropy in Cortical Neurons," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-11, April.

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