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Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on September 15, 2004
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhh180
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
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Article

A Dynamic Shift of Neural Network Activity before and after Learning-set Formation

Chihiro Yokoyama 1, Hideo Tsukada 2, Yasuyoshi Watanabe 3, and Hirotaka Onoe 4*

1 Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Science, 465 Kajii-cho, Kamigo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan; Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
2 Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., 5000 Hirakuchi, Hamakita, Shizuoka 434-8601, Japan
3 Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
4 Department of Psychology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, 2-6 Musashidai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8526, Japan

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: onoe{at}tmin.ac.jp.


  Abstract

Learning-set (LS) is a property of insight and hypothesis testing characterized by the ability to solve novel problems based on previous experiences with problem solving. However, the neural organization and mechanisms underlying LS remain unclear. To further characterize this process, positron emission tomography (PET) studies with [15O]H2O were performed to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during the learning phase of the two-choice visual discrimination task under the LS paradigm in rhesus monkeys. When comparing studies before and after LS formation, the orbitofrontal and lateral prefrontal cortices were differentially activated, and functional connections between these structures and the striatum, which contributes to habit learning, were altered. We conclude that changes in the lateral prefrontal cortex during problem solving may contribute to the executive function of working memory and also inhibit control of a primitive learning system, thereby promoting LS formation.

Keywords: macaque monkey; PET; prefrontal cortex; visual discrimination.
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