Prefrontal cortical recordings with biomorphic MEAs reveal complex columnar-laminar microcircuits for BCI/BMI...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience

Background:

• The mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for higher cognitive functions, including goal-directed behavior.
• Its intricate structure involves six-layered cortical organization with minicolumnar neuronal arrangements.
• Understanding PFC microcircuitry is key to deciphering sensory integration and signal selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the functional interactions within and between minicolumns in the primate PFC.
• To explore how neuronal activity and glutamate modulation contribute to cognitive tasks.
• To elucidate the microcircuit mechanisms underlying sensory information processing for behavior.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous recordings using biomorphic microelectrode arrays (MEAs) in adjacent minicolumns of non-human primates (NHPs).
• Analysis of inter-laminar and inter-columnar neuronal interactions via normalized cross-correlation histograms (CCH).
• Measurement of glutamate concentration modulation in layer 2/3 during a delayed match-to-sample (DMS) visual discrimination task.

Main Results:

• Neurons in both infra-granular and supra-granular layers exhibit functional interactions.
• Evidence of both inter-laminar loops and intra-laminar communication within PFC microcircuits.
• Neuronal interactions contribute to the generation of behavioral response signals during the DMS task.

Conclusions:

• Primate PFC microcircuits integrate sensory stimuli through complex inter-laminar and intra-laminar neuronal communication.
• These findings offer novel insights into the neural basis of goal-directed behavior.
• The identified mechanisms may inform the development of brain-computer/machine interfaces (BCI/BMIs).