MS Publc Seminar: SERGEY EGRANOV

Event Description

Neural Activity Within and Between Visual and Executive Areas is Modulated Post-Locomotion in Rhesus Macaques

Sergey Egranov (On-site Advisor: Michael Beierlein, PhD; Off-siter Advisor: Valentin Dragoi, PhD)

          Visual perception is a crucial sensory modality through which animals experience their surroundings and environment, and integration of incoming sensory information through parallel processing streams supports higher-order cognition and decision-making. While spatially navigating their environment via locomotion, nonhuman primates (NHPs) utilize perceptual information, such as distinct visual characteristics or cues to guide decision-making. Physical activity has been shown to benefit cognition by improving cerebrovascular perfusion and regulating hormone-mediated processes on a systemic level; however, the acute effects of physical activity such as locomotion on behavior, neuron firing rates, and the circuitry underlying communication between visual processing and executive function have yet to be fully characterized. We performed high-yield electrophysiological recordings simultaneously from area V4, a mid-tier visual cortical region, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), a higher order executive area, as an animal performed a contrast detection task following a period of sustained physical activity, finding that neural activity and communication both within and between V4 and dlPFC is modulated post-physical activity.

Advisory Committee:

• Michael Beierlein, PhD, Chair
• Valentin Dragoi, PhD, Co-Chair
• Yuri Dabaghian, PhD
• Fabricio Do Monte, DVM, PhD
• Heidi Kaplan, PhD