PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Arithmetic operations are complex mental processes rooted in the abstract concept of numerosity. Despite the significance, the neural architecture responsible for these operations has remained largely uncharted. In this study, we explored the presence of specific neuronal activity in the dorsal premotor cortex of the monkey dedicated to numerical addition and subtraction. Our findings reveal that many of these neural activities undergo a transformation, shifting their coding from arithmetic to motor representations. These motor representations include information about which hand to use and the number of steps involved in the action. We consistently observed that cells related to the right-hand encoded addition, while those linked to the left-hand encoded subtraction, suggesting that arithmetic operations and motor commands are intertwining with each other. Furthermore, we used a multivariate decoding technique to predict the monkey\'s behaviour based on the activity of these arithmetic-related cells. The classifier trained to discern arithmetic operations, including addition and subtraction, not only predicted the arithmetic decisions but also the subsequent motor actions of the right and left-hand. These findings imply a cognitive extension of the motor cortex\'s function, where inherent neural systems are repurposed to facilitate arithmetic operations.
摘要：
算术运算是根植于数字抽象概念的复杂心理过程。尽管意义重大,负责这些操作的神经架构在很大程度上仍然未知。在这项研究中,我们探索了猴子背侧运动前皮层中特定神经元活动的存在，这些活动致力于数字加法和减法。我们的发现表明，许多这些神经活动经历了转变，将他们的编码从算术转换为电机表示。这些运动表示包括有关使用哪只手以及动作中涉及的步数的信息。我们一致观察到与右手编码加法相关的细胞，而那些链接到左边编码的减法，这表明算术运算和电机指令是相互交织的。此外，我们使用了一种多变量解码技术，根据这些与算术相关的细胞的活动来预测猴子的行为。被训练来辨别算术运算的分类器，包括加法和减法，不仅预测了算术决策，而且还预测了右手和左手的后续运动动作。这些发现意味着运动皮层功能的认知扩展，其中固有的神经系统被重新利用以促进算术运算。
