Question

When Newsome had monkeys learn to judge the directional movement of a series of dots, he recorded from __ __ and found that as ________________ increased, so did ____________________ as well as ________________ ___________ of specific __________________ in this area. This tells us that there may be specific neurons which respond preferentially to ________________ ______________.

Answer 1

Neuroscientist Newsome's experiments with monkeys revealed that certain cortical areas show increased neuronal activity and firing rates in response to coherent directional movement, indicating the presence of direction-sensitive neurons.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Newsome had monkeys learn to judge the directional movement of a series of dots, he recorded from cortical areas and found that as coherence increased, so did neuronal activity as well as firing rates of specific neurons in this area. This tells us that there may be specific neurons which respond preferentially to directional movement.

These findings align with the idea that certain neurons, potentially similar to the documented mirror neurons, are specialized in processing and recognizing motion, which is vital for cognitive learning and interpretive actions. Neuronal activity and firing rates in monkeys increase when they discern movement, suggesting a sophisticated neural network at play. This network is crucial for animals to predict and interact with their environment - a trait seen in cognitive experiments with various animals, from primates' puzzle-solving abilities to rats' maze-navigation triggered by rewards. Such research is essential in unraveling the complexities of animal cognition, potentially providing insights into the neural foundations of human learning and action interpretation.