The primate pulvinar, a visual thalamic region, has showed remarkable expansion through evolution. However, its functional role has been enigmatic. Here, using a combination of neural recordings, pharmacological inactivation and computational modeling, we found that responses of pulvinar neurons encode a subject’s certainty of visual categorization and contribute to perceptual confidence. The current findings can open a new window for unraveling the neural mechanisms of normal and disordered sensory awareness.
Researcher Information
JST PRESTO
Research Area : “The Dynamic Mechanism of and Fundamental Technology for Biological System”
Research Theme :“Decision mechanism bridging the parallel and hierarchic gap in the primate brain”
Journal Information
Yutaka Komura, Akihiko Nikkuni, Noriko Hirashima, Teppei Uetake & Aki Miyamoto. “Responses of pulvinar neurons reflect a subject's confidence in visual categorization”
Nature Neuroscience, Published online 12 May 2013
doi: 10.1038/nn.3393
Contact
[About Research]
Yutaka Komura, Ph.D.
Pricipal Investigator, Human Technology Research Institute, AIST
E-mail:
URL: http://unit.aist.go.jp/htri/ht-sys-neuro/index_e.htm
[About Program]
Takafumi Kawaguchi, Fumiharu Kimura,
Life Science Group, Department of Innovation Research,
Japan Science and Technology Agency
E-mail: