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Reppert TR, Heitz RP, Schall JD. Neural mechanisms for executive control of speed-accuracy trade-off. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113422. [PMID: 37950871 PMCID: PMC10833473 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The medial frontal cortex (MFC) plays an important but disputed role in speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT). In samples of neural spiking in the supplementary eye field (SEF) in the MFC simultaneous with the visuomotor frontal eye field and superior colliculus in macaques performing a visual search with instructed SAT, during accuracy emphasis, most SEF neurons discharge less from before stimulus presentation until response generation. Discharge rates adjust immediately and simultaneously across structures upon SAT cue changes. SEF neurons signal choice errors with stronger and earlier activity during accuracy emphasis. Other neurons signal timing errors, covarying with adjusting response time. Spike correlations between neurons in the SEF and visuomotor areas did not appear, disappear, or change sign across SAT conditions or trial outcomes. These results clarify findings with noninvasive measures, complement previous neurophysiological findings, and endorse the role of the MFC as a critic for the actor instantiated in visuomotor structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Reppert
- Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA; Department of Psychology, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37383, USA
| | - Richard P Heitz
- Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA; Centre for Vision Research, Vision Science to Applications, Department of Biology, York University, Toronto ON M3J 1P3, Canada.
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2
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Herrera B, Sajad A, Errington SP, Schall JD, Riera JJ. Cortical origin of theta error signals. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11300-11319. [PMID: 37804250 PMCID: PMC10690871 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
A multi-scale approach elucidated the origin of the error-related-negativity (ERN), with its associated theta-rhythm, and the post-error-positivity (Pe) in macaque supplementary eye field (SEF). Using biophysical modeling, synaptic inputs to a subpopulation of layer-3 (L3) and layer-5 (L5) pyramidal cells (PCs) were optimized to reproduce error-related spiking modulation and inter-spike intervals. The intrinsic dynamics of dendrites in L5 but not L3 error PCs generate theta rhythmicity with random phases. Saccades synchronized the phases of the theta-rhythm, which was magnified on errors. Contributions from error PCs to the laminar current source density (CSD) observed in SEF were negligible and could not explain the observed association between error-related spiking modulation in L3 PCs and scalp-EEG. CSD from recorded laminar field potentials in SEF was comprised of multipolar components, with monopoles indicating strong electro-diffusion, dendritic/axonal electrotonic current leakage outside SEF, or violations of the model assumptions. Our results also demonstrate the involvement of secondary cortical regions, in addition to SEF, particularly for the later Pe component. The dipolar component from the observed CSD paralleled the ERN dynamics, while the quadrupolar component paralleled the Pe. These results provide the most advanced explanation to date of the cellular mechanisms generating the ERN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Herrera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, United States
| | - Amirsaman Sajad
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
| | - Steven P Errington
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, Vision: Science to Applications Program, Departments of Biology and Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Jorge J Riera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, United States
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3
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Fernandez Pujol C, Blundon EG, Dykstra AR. Laminar specificity of the auditory perceptual awareness negativity: A biophysical modeling study. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011003. [PMID: 37384802 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
How perception of sensory stimuli emerges from brain activity is a fundamental question of neuroscience. To date, two disparate lines of research have examined this question. On one hand, human neuroimaging studies have helped us understand the large-scale brain dynamics of perception. On the other hand, work in animal models (mice, typically) has led to fundamental insight into the micro-scale neural circuits underlying perception. However, translating such fundamental insight from animal models to humans has been challenging. Here, using biophysical modeling, we show that the auditory awareness negativity (AAN), an evoked response associated with perception of target sounds in noise, can be accounted for by synaptic input to the supragranular layers of auditory cortex (AC) that is present when target sounds are heard but absent when they are missed. This additional input likely arises from cortico-cortical feedback and/or non-lemniscal thalamic projections and targets the apical dendrites of layer-5 (L5) pyramidal neurons. In turn, this leads to increased local field potential activity, increased spiking activity in L5 pyramidal neurons, and the AAN. The results are consistent with current cellular models of conscious processing and help bridge the gap between the macro and micro levels of perception-related brain activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Fernandez Pujol
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth G Blundon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States of America
| | - Andrew R Dykstra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States of America
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Pujol CF, Blundon EG, Dykstra AR. Laminar Specificity of the Auditory Perceptual Awareness Negativity: A Biophysical Modeling Study. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 36945469 PMCID: PMC10028885 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.06.531459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
How perception of sensory stimuli emerges from brain activity is a fundamental question of neuroscience. To date, two disparate lines of research have examined this question. On one hand, human neuroimaging studies have helped us understand the large-scale brain dynamics of perception. On the other hand, work in animal models (mice, typically) has led to fundamental insight into the micro-scale neural circuits underlying perception. However, translating such fundamental insight from animal models to humans has been challenging. Here, using biophysical modeling, we show that the auditory awareness negativity (AAN), an evoked response associated with perception of target sounds in noise, can be accounted for by synaptic input to the supragranular layers of auditory cortex (AC) that is present when target sounds are heard but absent when they are missed. This additional input likely arises from cortico-cortical feedback and/or non-lemniscal thalamic projections and targets the apical dendrites of layer-V pyramidal neurons (PNs). In turn, this leads to increased local field potential activity, increased spiking activity in layer-V PNs, and the AAN. The results are consistent with current cellular models of conscious processing and help bridge the gap between the macro and micro levels of perception-related brain activity. Author Summary To date, our understanding of the brain basis of conscious perception has mostly been restricted to large-scale, network-level activity that can be measured non-invasively in human subjects. However, we lack understanding of how such network-level activity is supported by individual neurons and neural circuits. This is at least partially because conscious perception is difficult to study in experimental animals, where such detailed characterization of neural activity is possible. To address this gap, we used biophysical modeling to gain circuit-level insight into an auditory brain response known as the auditory awareness negativity (AAN). This response can be recorded non-invasively in humans and is associated with perceptual awareness of sounds of interest. Our model shows that the AAN likely arises from specific cortical layers and cell types. These data help bridge the gap between circuit- and network-level theories of consciousness, and could lead to new, targeted treatments for perceptual dysfunction and disorders of consciousness.
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Fu Z, Sajad A, Errington SP, Schall JD, Rutishauser U. Neurophysiological mechanisms of error monitoring in human and non-human primates. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:153-172. [PMID: 36707544 PMCID: PMC10231843 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00670-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Performance monitoring is an important executive function that allows us to gain insight into our own behaviour. This remarkable ability relies on the frontal cortex, and its impairment is an aspect of many psychiatric diseases. In recent years, recordings from the macaque and human medial frontal cortex have offered a detailed understanding of the neurophysiological substrate that underlies performance monitoring. Here we review the discovery of single-neuron correlates of error monitoring, a key aspect of performance monitoring, in both species. These neurons are the generators of the error-related negativity, which is a non-invasive biomarker that indexes error detection. We evaluate a set of tasks that allows the synergistic elucidation of the mechanisms of cognitive control across the two species, consider differences in brain anatomy and testing conditions across species, and describe the clinical relevance of these findings for understanding psychopathology. Last, we integrate the body of experimental facts into a theoretical framework that offers a new perspective on how error signals are computed in both species and makes novel, testable predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongzheng Fu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Amirsaman Sajad
- Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Steven P Errington
- Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Center for Integrative & Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA), York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Ueli Rutishauser
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Center for Neural Science and Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Functional architecture of executive control and associated event-related potentials in macaques. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6270. [PMID: 36271051 PMCID: PMC9586948 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33942-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The medial frontal cortex (MFC) enables executive control by monitoring relevant information and using it to adapt behavior. In macaques performing a saccade countermanding (stop-signal) task, we simultaneously recorded electrical potentials over MFC and neural spiking across all layers of the supplementary eye field (SEF). We report the laminar organization of neurons enabling executive control by monitoring the conflict between incompatible responses, the timing of events, and sustaining goal maintenance. These neurons were a mix of narrow-spiking and broad-spiking found in all layers, but those predicting the duration of control and sustaining the task goal until the release of operant control were more commonly narrow-spiking neurons confined to layers 2 and 3 (L2/3). We complement these results with evidence for a monkey homolog of the N2/P3 event-related potential (ERP) complex associated with response inhibition. N2 polarization varied with error-likelihood and P3 polarization varied with the duration of expected control. The amplitude of the N2 and P3 were predicted by the spike rate of different classes of neurons located in L2/3 but not L5/6. These findings reveal features of the cortical microcircuitry supporting executive control and producing associated ERPs.
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Herrera B, Westerberg JA, Schall MS, Maier A, Woodman GF, Schall JD, Riera JJ. Resolving the mesoscopic missing link: Biophysical modeling of EEG from cortical columns in primates. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119593. [PMID: 36031184 PMCID: PMC9968827 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERP) are among the most widely measured indices for studying human cognition. While their timing and magnitude provide valuable insights, their usefulness is limited by our understanding of their neural generators at the circuit level. Inverse source localization offers insights into such generators, but their solutions are not unique. To address this problem, scientists have assumed the source space generating such signals comprises a set of discrete equivalent current dipoles, representing the activity of small cortical regions. Based on this notion, theoretical studies have employed forward modeling of scalp potentials to understand how changes in circuit-level dynamics translate into macroscopic ERPs. However, experimental validation is lacking because it requires in vivo measurements of intracranial brain sources. Laminar local field potentials (LFP) offer a mechanism for estimating intracranial current sources. Yet, a theoretical link between LFPs and intracranial brain sources is missing. Here, we present a forward modeling approach for estimating mesoscopic intracranial brain sources from LFPs and predict their contribution to macroscopic ERPs. We evaluate the accuracy of this LFP-based representation of brain sources utilizing synthetic laminar neurophysiological measurements and then demonstrate the power of the approach in vivo to clarify the source of a representative cognitive ERP component. To that end, LFP was measured across the cortical layers of visual area V4 in macaque monkeys performing an attention demanding task. We show that area V4 generates dipoles through layer-specific transsynaptic currents that biophysically recapitulate the ERP component through the detailed forward modeling. The constraints imposed on EEG production by this method also revealed an important dissociation between computational and biophysical contributors. As such, this approach represents an important bridge between laminar microcircuitry, through the mesoscopic activity of cortical columns to the patterns of EEG we measure at the scalp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Herrera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, United States
| | - Jacob A. Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States,Corresponding author. (J.A. Westerberg)
| | - Michelle S. Schall
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States
| | - Geoffrey F. Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States
| | - Jeffrey D. Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, Departments of Biology and Psychology, Vision: Science to Applications Program, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Jorge J. Riera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, United States
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8
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Medalla M, Chang W, Ibañez S, Guillamon-Vivancos T, Nittmann M, Kapitonava A, Busch SE, Moore TL, Rosene DL, Luebke JI. Layer-specific pyramidal neuron properties underlie diverse anterior cingulate cortical motor and limbic networks. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:2170-2196. [PMID: 34613380 PMCID: PMC9113240 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The laminar cellular and circuit mechanisms by which the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) exerts flexible control of motor and affective information for goal-directed behavior have not been elucidated. Using multimodal tract-tracing, in vitro patch-clamp recording and computational approaches in rhesus monkeys (M. mulatta), we provide evidence that specialized motor and affective network dynamics can be conferred by layer-specific biophysical and structural properties of ACC pyramidal neurons targeting two key downstream structures -the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and the amygdala (AMY). AMY-targeting neurons exhibited significant laminar differences, with L5 more excitable (higher input resistance and action potential firing rates) than L3 neurons. Between-pathway differences were found within L5, with AMY-targeting neurons exhibiting greater excitability, apical dendritic complexity, spine densities, and diversity of inhibitory inputs than PMd-targeting neurons. Simulations using a pyramidal-interneuron network model predict that these layer- and pathway-specific single-cell differences contribute to distinct network oscillatory dynamics. L5 AMY-targeting networks are more tuned to slow oscillations well-suited for affective and contextual processing timescales, while PMd-targeting networks showed strong beta/gamma synchrony implicated in rapid sensorimotor processing. These findings are fundamental to our broad understanding of how layer-specific cellular and circuit properties can drive diverse laminar activity found in flexible behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Medalla
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Wayne Chang
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Sara Ibañez
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Teresa Guillamon-Vivancos
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Mathias Nittmann
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Anastasia Kapitonava
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Silas E Busch
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Tara L Moore
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Douglas L Rosene
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Jennifer I Luebke
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
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Emergence of stochastic resonance in a two-compartment hippocampal pyramidal neuron model. J Comput Neurosci 2022; 50:217-240. [PMID: 35022992 DOI: 10.1007/s10827-021-00808-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
In vitro studies have shown that hippocampal pyramidal neurons employ a mechanism similar to stochastic resonance (SR) to enhance the detection and transmission of weak stimuli generated at distal synapses. To support the experimental findings from the perspective of multicompartment model analysis, this paper aimed to elucidate the phenomenon of SR in a noisy two-compartment hippocampal pyramidal neuron model, which was a variant of the Pinsky-Rinzel neuron model with smooth activation functions and a hyperpolarization-activated cation current. With a bifurcation analysis of the model, we demonstrated the underlying dynamical structure responsible for the occurrence of SR. Furthermore, using a stochastically generated biphasic pulse train and broadband noise generated by the Orenstein-Uhlenbeck process as noise perturbation, both SR and suprathreshold SR were observed and quantified. Spectral analysis revealed that the distribution of spectral power under noise perturbations, in addition to inherent neurodynamics, is the main factor affecting SR behavior. The research results suggested that noise enhances the transmission of weak stimuli associated with elongated dendritic structures of hippocampal pyramidal neurons, thereby providing support for related laboratory findings.
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