Distracters impair and create working memory-related neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has a central role in working memory (WM). Resistance to distraction is considered a fundamental feature of WM and PFC neuronal activity. However, although unexpected stimuli often disrupt our work, little is known about the underlying neuronal mechanisms involved.

Processing of auditory and visual location information in the monkey prefrontal cortex.

Visuospatial working memory mechanisms have been studied extensively at single cell level in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFCd) in nonhuman primates. Despite the importance of short-term memory of sound location for behavioral orientation, there are only a few studies on auditory spatial working memory. The purpose of this study was to investigate neuronal mechanisms underlying working memory processing of auditory and visual location information at single cell level in the PFCd.

A potential aphrodisiac for female macaques.

Earlier studies suggest that alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonists and dopamine receptor agonists may enhance sexual activity in human and nonhuman male primates. It is not known whether these compounds influence the sexual behavior of female primates. We determined whether the administration of a selective alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist (atipamezole), a dopamine receptor agonist (apomorphine), or their combination to female Macaca arctoides (stumptail macaque) monkeys produces changes in sexual behavior of the female with a male.

Shared means and meanings in vocal expression of man and macaque.

Vocalisations of six Macaca arctoides that were categorised according to their social context and judgements of naive human listeners as expressions of plea/submission, anger, fear, dominance, contentment and emotional neutrality, were compared with vowel samples extracted from simulations of emotional-motivational connotations by the Finnish name Saara and English name Sarah. The words were spoken by seven Finnish and 13 English women. Humans and monkeys resembled each other in the following respects.

Working memory of identification of emotional vocal expressions: an fMRI study.

The distribution of brain activation during working memory processing of emotional vocal expressions was studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in eight female subjects performing n-back tasks with three load levels (0-back, 1-back, and 2-back tasks). The stimuli in the n-back tasks were the Finnish female name [Saara] uttered in an astonished, angry, frightened, commanding, and scornful mode, and the subjects were instructed to memorize the emotional connotation of the stimuli. Subregions in the prefrontal, parietal, and visual association areas were load-dependently activated during the performance of the n-back tasks.