Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 11 July 1997:
Vol. 277. no. 5323, pp. 239 - 241
DOI: 10.1126/science.277.5323.239
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Coding the Locations of Objects in the Dark

Michael S. A. Graziano, * Xin Tian Hu, Charles G. Gross

The ventral premotor cortex in primates is thought to be involved in sensory-motor integration. Many of its neurons respond to visual stimuli in the space near the arms or face. In this study on the ventral premotor cortex of monkeys, an object was presented within the visual receptive fields of individual neurons, then the lights were turned off and the object was silently removed. A subset of the neurons continued to respond in the dark as if the object were still present and visible. Such cells exhibit "object permanence," encoding the presence of an object that is no longer visible. These cells may underlie the ability to reach toward or avoid objects that are no longer directly visible.

Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: graziano{at}princeton.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Contextual learning and obstacle memory in the walking cat.
D.A. McVea and K.G. Pearson (2007)
Integr. Comp. Biol. 47, 457-464
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Reference Frames for Reach Planning in Macaque Dorsal Premotor Cortex.
A. P. Batista, G. Santhanam, B. M. Yu, S. I. Ryu, A. Afshar, and K. V. Shenoy (2007)
J Neurophysiol 98, 966-983
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dissociation of Eye and Head Components of Gaze Shifts by Stimulation of the Omnipause Neuron Region.
N. J. Gandhi and D. L. Sparks (2007)
J Neurophysiol 98, 360-373
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Sightless View: Neural Correlates of Occluded Objects.
O. J. Hulme and S Zeki (2007)
Cereb Cortex 17, 1197-1205
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Touching a Rubber Hand: Feeling of Body Ownership Is Associated with Activity in Multisensory Brain Areas.
H. H. Ehrsson, N. P. Holmes, and R. E. Passingham (2005)
J. Neurosci. 25, 10564-10573
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Auditory processing in the posterior parietal cortex..
Y. E. Cohen, B. E. Russ, and G. W. Gifford III (2005)
Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev 4, 218-231
   Abstract »    PDF »
Selectivity for the Spatial and Nonspatial Attributes of Auditory Stimuli in the Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex.
Y. E. Cohen, B. E. Russ, G. W. Gifford III, R. Kiringoda, and K. A. MacLean (2004)
J. Neurosci. 24, 11307-11316
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Regulation of Persistent Activity by Background Inhibition in an In Vitro Model of a Cortical Microcircuit.
J.-M. Fellous and T. J. Sejnowski (2003)
Cereb Cortex 13, 1232-1241
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Better Vision through Manipulation.
G. Metta and P. Fitzpatrick (2003)
Adaptive Behavior 11, 109-128
   Abstract »    PDF »
Movement-Related Neuronal Activity Reflecting the Transformation of Coordinates in the Ventral Premotor Cortex of Monkeys.
K. Kurata and E. Hoshi (2002)
J Neurophysiol 88, 3118-3132
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Responses of Primate Visual Cortical Neurons to Stimuli Presented by Flash, Saccade, Blink, and External Darkening.
T. J. Gawne and J. M. Martin (2002)
J Neurophysiol 88, 2178-2186
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The clothing effect: Tactile neurons in the precentral gyrus do not respond to the touch of the familiar primate chair.
M. S. A. Graziano, S. E. Alisharan, X. Hu, and C. G. Gross (2002)
PNAS 99, 11930-11933
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Parietal Reach Region Codes the Next Planned Movement in a Sequential Reach Task.
A. P. Batista and R. A. Andersen (2001)
J Neurophysiol 85, 539-544
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Gamma Oscillations and Object Processing in the Infant Brain.
G. Csibra, G. Davis, M. W. Spratling, and M. H. Johnson (2000)
Science 290, 1582-1585
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Reach Plans in Eye-Centered Coordinates.
A. P. Batista, C. A. Buneo, L. H. Snyder, and R. A. Andersen (1999)
Science 285, 257-260
   Abstract »    Full Text »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)