September 16, 2021
Keio University
Kochi University of Technology
National Institute for Physiological Sciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
In a joint research project, Kaho Tsumura, a graduate student at the time of the research (completed her master's degree in the Graduate School of Science and Technology in 2019), Keita Kosugi, a fourth-year student at the time (graduated in 2019), and Associate Professor Koji Jimura from the Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, in collaboration with Professor Kiyoshi Nakahara and Project Professor Masaki Takeda of Kochi University of Technology, and Associate Professor Junichi Chikazoe of the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, discovered that the prefrontal and occipitotemporal cortices of the human brain complement each other's functions when switching behaviors in situations of uncertainty about the appropriate action. These findings indicate that a global mechanism in the cerebral cortex complements information for perceptual decision-making to guide behavioral flexibility. They also exemplify that advanced cognitive functions unique to humans are supported by sophisticated, large-scale neural circuit mechanisms. This research was published in the advance online edition of the American academic journal Cerebral Cortex on September 14.
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