Crowe et al recorded simultaneously from the prefrontal and parietal cortices during a visuospatial categorization task.  By examining simultaneous fluctuations in information, they provided evidence that the signals reflecting the rule-dependent categories were transmitted in a top-down fashion from the prefrontal to the parietal cortex.  The prefrontal cortex has long been thought to be the source of top-down “executive” signals.  However, until recently, direct evidence for this has been rare.  This study adds to a growing body of literature that has provided this evidence by using multiple-electrode recording to examine the temporal dynamics of neural signals (e.g., Buschman and Miller, 2007; Ibos et al, 2013).

About the Author


The Miller Lab uses experimental and theoretical approaches to study the neural basis of the high-level cognitive functions that underlie complex goal-directed behavior. ekmillerlab.mit.edu