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Neural basis for categorical boundaries in the primate pre-SMA during relative categorization of time intervals.

ABSTRACT: Perceptual categorization depends on the assignment of different stimuli to specific groups based, in principle, on the notion of flexible categorical boundaries. To determine the neural basis of categorical boundaries, we record the activity of pre-SMA neurons of monkeys executing an interval categorization task in which the limit between short and long categories changes between blocks of trials within a session. A large population of cells encodes this boundary by reaching a constant peak of activity close to the corresponding subjective limit. Notably, the time at which this peak is reached changes according to the categorical boundary of the current block, predicting the monkeys' categorical decision on a trial-by-trial basis. In addition, pre-SMA cells also represent the category selected by the monkeys and the outcome of the decision. These results suggest that the pre-SMA adaptively encodes subjective duration boundaries between short and long durations and contains crucial neural information to categorize intervals and evaluate the outcome of such perceptual decisions.

SUBMITTER: Mendoza G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5854627 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neural basis for categorical boundaries in the primate pre-SMA during relative categorization of time intervals.

Mendoza Germán G Méndez Juan Carlos JC Pérez Oswaldo O Prado Luis L Merchant Hugo H

Nature communications 20180315 1

Perceptual categorization depends on the assignment of different stimuli to specific groups based, in principle, on the notion of flexible categorical boundaries. To determine the neural basis of categorical boundaries, we record the activity of pre-SMA neurons of monkeys executing an interval categorization task in which the limit between short and long categories changes between blocks of trials within a session. A large population of cells encodes this boundary by reaching a constant peak of ...[more]

PMID: 29545587

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Project description:Humans readily sort one another into multiple social categories from mere facial features. However, the facial features used to do so are not always clear-cut because they can be associated with opponent categories (e.g., feminine male face). Recently, computational models and behavioral studies have provided indirect evidence that categorizing such faces is accomplished through dynamic competition between parallel, coactivated social categories that resolve into a stable categorical percept. Using a novel paradigm combining fMRI with real-time hand tracking, the present study examined how the brain translates diverse social cues into categorical percepts. Participants (male and female) categorized faces varying in gender and racial typicality. When categorizing atypical faces, participants' hand movements were simultaneously attracted toward the unselected category response, indexing the degree to which such faces activated the opposite category in parallel. Multivoxel pattern analyses (MVPAs) provided evidence that such social category coactivation manifested in neural patterns of the right fusiform cortex. The extent to which the hand was simultaneously attracted to the opposite gender or race category response option corresponded to increased neural pattern similarity with the average pattern associated with that category, which in turn associated with stronger engagement of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. The findings point to a model of social categorization in which occasionally conflicting facial features are resolved through competition between coactivated ventral-temporal cortical representations with the assistance of conflict-monitoring regions. More broadly, the results offer a promising multimodal paradigm to investigate the neural basis of "hidden", temporarily active representations in the service of a broad range of cognitive processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Individuals readily sort one another into social categories (e.g., sex, race), which have important consequences for a variety of interpersonal behaviors. However, individuals routinely encounter faces that contain diverse features associated with multiple categories (e.g., feminine male face). Using a novel paradigm combining neuroimaging with hand tracking, the present research sought to address how the brain comes to arrive at stable social categorizations from multiple social cues. The results provide evidence that opponent social categories coactivate in face-processing regions, which compete and may resolve into an eventual stable categorization with the assistance of conflict-monitoring regions. Therefore, the findings provide a neural mechanism through which the brain may translate inherently diverse social cues into coherent categorizations of other people.

Dataset Information

Neural basis for categorical boundaries in the primate pre-SMA during relative categorization of time intervals.

Publications

Neural basis for categorical boundaries in the primate pre-SMA during relative categorization of time intervals.

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