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Nature 461, 50-51 (3 September 2009) | doi:10.1038/461050a; Published online 2 September 2009

Neuroscience: Persistent feedback

Hyojung Seo¹ & Daeyeol Lee¹

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Abstract

How does the brain remember the consequences of our actions? Persistent activity in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia may be crucial for learning correct actions through experience.

Do you jump out of bed when you hear the alarm clock ring in the morning? Or do you push the snoozer? Your choice will depend on the consequences of similar actions in the past. Typically, if an action triggered by a stimulus leads to a pleasant outcome, such as food or safety, we are more likely to perform the same action on re-encountering the same stimulus¹. Therefore, a fundamental building block in shaping behaviour is the relationship between a sensory event, a chosen action and its consequences, but how the brain stores this information is still a matter of speculation. A recent paper in Neuron by Histed et al.² sheds some light on these mechanisms by showing that neurons in the primate prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia display persistent activity that is related to the outcomes of previous actions.

A repost...