Categorical Representation of Visual Stimuli in the Primate Prefrontal Cortex
Abstract
The ability to group stimuli into meaningful categories is a fundamental cognitive process. To explore its neural basis, we trained monkeys to categorize computer-generated stimuli as “cats” and “dogs.” A morphing system was used to systematically vary stimulus shape and precisely define the category boundary. Neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex reflected the category of visual stimuli, even when a monkey was retrained with the stimuli assigned to new categories.
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Areas of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex are implicated in semantic processing, object categorization, representation of feature-based information for abstract categories, selection among competing response representations, and response inhibition.
“Areas of the VLPFC on the other hand, are implicated in semantic processing tasks (e.g., Gitelman et al. 2005), categorization of objects (e.g., Freedman et al. 2001), representation of feature-based information for abstract categories (e.g., Freedman et al. 2002; see Miller et al. 2002), selection amongst competing response representations (e.g., Badre & Wagner 2007; Schnur et al. 2009), and”
From The brain basis of emotion: a meta-analytic review (2012) · cites this paper as Freedman et al. 2001
This class of models is qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with several properties of subpopulations of cells in V1, V4, IT, and PFC as well as fMRI and psychophysical data.
“This class of models seems to be qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with [and in some cases actually predicts (23)] several properties of subpopulations of cells in V1, V4, IT, and PFC (25) as well as fMRI and psychophysical data.”
From A feedforward architecture accounts for rapid categorization (2007) · cites this paper as [25]
After the initial unsupervised learning stage, only the task-specific circuits at the top level in the model, possibly corresponding to categorization units in PFC, have to be trained from a small set of labeled examples and in a task-specific manner for the 'mature' model to learn a categorization task.
“After this initial unsupervised learning stage, only the task-specific circuits at the top level in the model, possibly corresponding to categorization units in PFC (25), have to be trained from a small set of labeled examples and in a task-specific manner (see Materials and Methods ) for the ''mature'' model to learn a categorization task (e.g., animal vs. non-animal).”
From A feedforward architecture accounts for rapid categorization (2007) · cites this paper as [25]
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“An early example was the consistent fi nding that any given task engages around a third of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (Asaad et al., 2000; Freedman et al., 2001; Wallis et al., 2001; Xiang et al., 2025).”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Freedman, D. J., Riesenhuber, M., Poggio, T., & Miller, E. K.
- Affiliations
- RIKEN (JP)
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research (US)
- Corresponding author
- Miller, Earl K.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2001-01-12
- Volume
- 291
- Issue
- 5502
- Pages
- 312-316
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2060971741
- Cited by
- 1,123
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 32 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 46 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 49 · 2014: 59 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 49
- FWCI
- 19.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- categorical representation, visual categorization, lateral prefrontal cortex, category boundaries, category learning, primate visual cortex
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Haplorhini, Brain Mapping, Cats, Cognition, Dogs, Form Perception, Learning, Mental Processes, Neurons, Photic Stimulation, Temporal Lobe, Prefrontal Cortex
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