A functional role for the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in non-spatial auditory cognition

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Nov 24;106(47):20045-50. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0907248106. Epub 2009 Nov 6.

Abstract

Spatial and non-spatial sensory information is hypothesized to be evaluated in parallel pathways. In this study, we tested the spatial and non-spatial sensitivity of auditory neurons in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vPFC), a cortical area in the non-spatial pathway. Activity was tested while non-human primates reported changes in an auditory stimulus' spatial or non-spatial features. We found that vPFC neurons were reliably modulated during a non-spatial auditory task but were not modulated during a spatial auditory task. The degree of modulation during the non-spatial task correlated positively with the monkeys' behavioral performance. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that the vPFC is part of a circuit involved in non-spatial auditory processing and that the vPFC plays a functional role in non-spatial auditory cognition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Animals
  • Auditory Pathways / physiology
  • Auditory Perception / physiology*
  • Behavior, Animal / physiology
  • Cognition / physiology*
  • Electrophysiology
  • Humans
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Male
  • Neurons / physiology
  • Prefrontal Cortex* / anatomy & histology
  • Prefrontal Cortex* / physiology
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology
  • Space Perception / physiology
  • Vocalization, Animal / physiology