Distinct population and single-neuron selectivity for executive and episodic processing in human dorsal posterior cingulate
Lyndsey Aponik-Gremillion,
Yvonne Y Chen,
Eleonora Bartoli,
Seth R Koslov,
Hernan G Rey,
Kevin S Weiner,
Daniel Yoshor,
Benjamin Y Hayden,
Sameer A Sheth,
Brett L Foster
Affiliations
Lyndsey Aponik-Gremillion
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States; Department of Health Sciences, Dumke College for Health Professionals, Weber State University, Ogden, United States; Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States
Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States; Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States; Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
Daniel Yoshor
Department of Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
Benjamin Y Hayden
Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States; Center for Neural Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States; Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States
Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is an enigmatic region implicated in psychiatric and neurological disease, yet its role in cognition remains unclear. Human studies link PCC to episodic memory and default mode network (DMN), while findings from the non-human primate emphasize executive processes more associated with the cognitive control network (CCN) in humans. We hypothesized this difference reflects an important functional division between dorsal (executive) and ventral (episodic) PCC. To test this, we utilized human intracranial recordings of population and single unit activity targeting dorsal PCC during an alternated executive/episodic processing task. Dorsal PCC population responses were significantly enhanced for executive, compared to episodic, task conditions, consistent with the CCN. Single unit recordings, however, revealed four distinct functional types with unique executive (CCN) or episodic (DMN) response profiles. Our findings provide critical electrophysiological data from human PCC, bridging incongruent views within and across species, furthering our understanding of PCC function.
