Neuronal activity in human right lateral temporal cortex related to visuospatial memory and perception

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(95)01351-2

Brain Research

Volume 711, Issues 1–2, 4 March 1996, Pages 44-49

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(95)01351-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

Neuronal activity was recorded extracellularly from 22 neurons in the right lateral temporal cortex of 12 patients undergoing awake craniotomy for surgical treatment of epilepsy during tests of visuospatial function. These included: measures of short-term visuospatial memory; face, complex figure and line matching; labeling of facial emotional expressions; and a language task, object naming. Six neurons demonstrated significant changes during one or more of the three 1.3-s epochs following test presentation. All 6 of these neurons demonstrated inhibition during short-term visuospatial memory entry, or retrieval, or both. Four of the neurons also showed significant changes during one or more matching tasks; 8 of 10 of these changes were excitatory. One neuron also demonstrated excitation with labeling of facial emotional expression and another with naming. These data demonstrate in human right lateral temporal cortex a pattern of inhibition of neuronal activity during short-term visuospatial memory that contrasts with excitation during other functions, particularly figure matching.

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Furthermore, children with epilepsy also showed deficits in the visuospatial perception component. In epilepsy, the right lateral temporal cortex has shown a pattern of inhibition of neuronal activity during short-term visuospatial memory that contrasts with excitation during other functions, particularly figure matching and perception [57]. In children, visuospatial memory predicts mathematics achievement through early adolescence [58], and low visuospatial abilities lead to a decrease in the mental number accuracy [59].
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Quantified temporal information derived from action potentials includes neuronal firing rates, peristimulus time histograms, and interspike time intervals. These measures are useful for interpreting neural information from cerebral neurons that are responding to external influences such as visuospatial memory,59 visual presentation of faces,60 or passive joint movements.61 Firing rates are modulated by neurons responding to these external influences and encode motor plans.
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Recordings in patients are restricted to areas that are clinically relevant (e.g. areas which are suspect of causing epileptic seizures). In some cases, investigators record neuronal activity during surgery [13,16–18]. These acute recordings involve difficult experiments because they need to be performed in the context of brain surgery.
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Neuronal activity in human right lateral temporal cortex related to visuospatial memory and perception

Abstract

Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol.

Cortex

Neuropsychologia

Neuronal activity in human lateral temporal lobe: III. Activity changes during music

Exp. Brain Res.

Neuronal activity in the human lateral temporal lobe: L Responses to speech

Exp. Brain Res.

Neuronal activity in human temporal lobe: 1L Responses to subjects own voice

Exp. Brain Res.

Pictures of Facial Affect

Organization of visuospatial functions in human cortex: evidence from electrical stimulation

Brain

Neuronal activity in human lateral temporal cortex during serial retrieval from short-term memory

J. Neurosci.

Right temporal lobe damage. Perception of unfamiliar stimuli after damage

Arch. Neurol.

Attentional mechanisms and perceptual asymmetries in tachistosotic recognition of words and faces

Neuropsychologia

Methods for Neuronal Recording in Conscious Animals