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Earl Miller
Professor Earl Miller's lab studies the brain mechanisms of "executive" functions like paying attention, recalling memories, categorizing objects and piecing together the information it takes to achieve a complex goal, including the logic, or "rules of the game," that we rely on to guide thought and action. The lab links sophisticated behavioral studies with techniques for analyzing the activity of groups of neurons.
Our lab focuses much of its attention on the prefrontal cortex, a cortical region at the anterior end of the brain that has long been known play a central role in orchestrating complex thoughts and actions. Its damage or dysfunction seems to result in a loss of the brain's executive functions: an inability to ignore distractions, hold important information "in mind," plan behavior and control impulses.
Results from our lab have shown that neurons in the prefrontal cortex have properties commensurate with a role in executive functions. They are involved in directing attention and recalling stored memories, and they integrate the diverse information needed for a given goal. Perhaps most importantly, they transmit acquired knowledge. Their activity reflects learned task contingencies, concepts and rules. For example, recent work has demonstrated their role in representing abstract concepts such as "cat versus dog," "same versus different," and small numbers. This may provide the foundation for the complex behavior of primates, in whom the prefrontal cortex is most elaborate.
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