Variability of prefrontal neuronal discharges before and after training in a working memory task

Variability of neural discharges can be revealing about the computations and network properties of neuronal populations during the performance of cognitive tasks. We sought to quantify neuronal variability in the prefrontal cortex of naïve monkeys that were only required to fixate, and to examine how this measure was altered by learning and execution of a working memory task. We therefore performed analysis of a large database of recordings in the same animals, using the same stimuli, before and after training. Our results indicate that the Fano Factor, a measure of variability, differs across neurons depending on their functional properties both before and after learning. Fano Factor generally decreased after learning the task. Variability was modulated by task events and displayed lowest values during the stimulus presentation. Nonetheless, the decrease in variability after training was present even prior to the presentation of any stimuli, in the fixation period. The greatest decreases were observed comparing populations of neurons that exhibited elevated firing rate during the trial events. Our results offer insights on how properties of the prefrontal network are affected by performance of a cognitive task.