Speaker
Description
The evolution of frontopolar cortex (FPC) has been linked to advanced social skills typical to primates. Until recently, lesion and electrophysiological studies in macaques have revealed its role in exploratory behaviors and self-generated actions. Two of our previous electrophysiological works confirmed and broadened this role. FPC neurons encoded the different stages of a learning process and the choices of others. This other-specific neural substrate was very specific and did not emerge during the interaction with a non-social agent, i.e. a computer performing the action. To go further in the understanding of the FPC functions in social behaviors, we recorded the activity of FPC neurons while macaque monkeys performed two observational versions of a fast-learning task. During this task, monkeys must resolve problems (choosing the correct target out of two presented) after observing a social or a non-social agent trying to resolve randomly the same problem. Behaviorally, monkeys learned in both cases after only one trial, allowing to study the neural bases of these two types of observational learning. Our preliminary electrophysiological results show that during non-social observational learning, the learning stage representation was similar than during individual learning. Only the first presentation of problems was represented differently than the others, possibly reflecting a mental rehearsal of the action. Differently, during social observational learning, the second presentation of problems was different from the later ones. This highlights the differences between the time one extracts information from other’s action with the moment one uses information previously extracted.
| If you're submitting a poster, would you be interested in giving a blitz talk? | No |
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| If you're submitting a symposium talk, what's the symposium title? | Interacting with the world: from neurons to social behavior |
| If you're submitting a symposium, or a talk that is part of a symposium, is this a junior symposium? | No |
