生物谷：來自McGill大學(xué)蒙特利爾神經(jīng)學(xué)研究中心（MNI）的科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)人類大腦的未知區(qū)域主要負(fù)責(zé)感知和儲(chǔ)存有序視覺信息,。這是更高級(jí)計(jì)劃能力的基礎(chǔ),，并且只在人類和其它靈長(zhǎng)類中存在,。
MNI認(rèn)知神經(jīng)科學(xué)主任Michael Petrides表示：“我們計(jì)劃和操作信息的能力依賴于確定事物精確順序的能力。狗,、貓和老鼠等有很大的記憶容量,，但它們的大腦可能沒有捕捉事物精確順序的能力。”
這一研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在8月13日的 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences上,，在實(shí)驗(yàn)中,，17位志愿者觀察一系列黑白的抽象圖像，科學(xué)家通過功能核磁共振對(duì)他們的大腦進(jìn)行掃描,。
Petrides表示：“在顯示完第一組圖像之后,，志愿者馬上重復(fù)觀察第一、第二或是第三個(gè)圖像,，他們必須確定哪一個(gè)圖像出現(xiàn)得較早,。”在這一過程中，科學(xué)家觀察志愿者大腦的活動(dòng)情況,，以確定在中背外側(cè)額葉皮層（DLPFC）中,，哪個(gè)區(qū)域負(fù)責(zé)獲取以及保存視覺刺激的精確順序。
實(shí)驗(yàn)中使用的抽象圖案是精心選擇的,，它們難以用語言描述,，這可以排除文字記憶的影響。Petrides說：“我們希望研究大腦大腦保存那些非文字記憶的事情的容量,。有趣的是這些容量并不大,。如果用文字記憶，我們可以記住7或8個(gè),，而對(duì)于抽象視覺則只有4或5個(gè),。”這些發(fā)現(xiàn)和了解一些神經(jīng)功能問題相關(guān),，此外研究中的方法還可以幫助外科醫(yī)生在手術(shù)中確定和避免某些區(qū)域。 （援引教育部科技發(fā)展中心）
原文鏈接：http://www.physorg.com/news106330255.html
原始出處:
Published online before print August 15, 2007
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0706220104
Neuroscience
Selective involvement of the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the coding of the serial order of visual stimuli in working memory
( functional magnetic resonance imaging | human | serial-order memory )
Céline Amiez and Michael Petrides
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4
Communicated by Brenda Milner, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, July 4, 2007 (received for review December 18, 2006)
There is evidence that the primate prefrontal cortex is involved in the monitoring of the order in which stimuli occur. The prefrontal cortical areas, however, involved in the capacity of the human brain to encode and hold "in mind" the precise order of occurrence of a limited number of visual stimuli after a single exposure are not known. Changes in regional cerebral activity were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging while subjects were coding the precise order of a short sequence of abstract visual stimuli. The results demonstrate the involvement of areas 46 and 9/46, within the mid-dorsolateral subdivision of the prefrontal cortex, in the coding of the precise order of a short sequence of visual stimuli in working memory, consistent with earlier results from monkey lesion studies. The availability of such detailed serial-order information in working memory allows high-level cognitive planning and mental manipulation, functions that depend on prefrontal cortex.
