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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
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Targeted Labeling of Neurons in a Specific Functional Micro-domain of the Neocortex by Combining Intrinsic Signal and Two-photon Imaging
Published on: December 12, 2012
Parietal mechanisms of target representation
1Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, Kolb Research Annex, Room 820, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|May 17, 2002
Summary
Parietal lobe neurons selectively represent behaviorally relevant objects. These neurons adapt to immediate needs, integrating information to guide actions and perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- The parietal lobe plays a crucial role in sensorimotor integration and attention.
- Understanding how neural representations adapt to behavioral demands is key to cognitive function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the selectivity of parietal lobe neural representations for behaviorally relevant objects.
- To explore how parietal neurons adapt their representations based on immediate behavioral needs.
Main Methods:
- Single-neuron recordings in the parietal lobe.
- Analysis of neural activity in relation to behavioral relevance and target selection.
Main Results:
- Parietal neurons exhibit high selectivity for objects relevant to ongoing behavior.
- Neural selectivity dynamically changes based on immediate behavioral requirements.
- Parietal neurons integrate multisensory evidence to determine behavioral relevance.
Conclusions:
- Selective parietal representations may serve as a general-purpose attentional mechanism.
- These representations can specify targets for both exploratory movements and perception simultaneously.
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