01458nas a2200169 4500008004100000245006800041210006800109260001600177490000700193520091600200100002201116700003001138700002601168700001801194700002201212856005401234 2019 eng d00aCognitive control of complex motor behavior in marmoset monkeys0 aCognitive control of complex motor behavior in marmoset monkeys cJan-12-20190 v103 a

Marmosets have attracted significant interest in the life sciences. Similarities with human brain anatomy and physiology, such as the granular frontal cortex, as well as the development of transgenic lines and potential for transferring rodent neuroscientific techniques to small primates make them a promising neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric model system. However, whether marmosets can exhibit complex motor tasks in highly controlled experimental designs—one of the prerequisites for investigating higher-order control mechanisms underlying cognitive motor behavior—has not been demonstrated. We show that marmosets can be trained to perform vocal behavior in response to arbitrary visual cues in controlled operant conditioning tasks. Our results emphasize the marmoset as a suitable model to study complex motor behavior and the evolution of cognitive control underlying speech.

1 aPomberger, Thomas1 aRisueno-Segovia, Cristina1 aGultekin, Yasemin, B.1 aDohmen, Deniz1 aHage, Steffen, R. uhttp://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11714-802567nas a2200205 4500008004100000022001300041245008200054210006900136260001600205520171200221653002301933653002501956653003501981653001302016653002802029653002702057100002202084700002202106856023302128 2018 eng d a0165027000aSemi-chronic laminar recordings in the brainstem of behaving marmoset monkeys0 aSemichronic laminar recordings in the brainstem of behaving marm cJan-10-20183 a

Background

Chronic recordings with multi-electrode arrays are widely used to study neural networks underlying complex primate behaviors. Most of these systems are designed for studying neural activity in the cortical hemispheres resulting in a lack of devices being capable of simultaneously recording from ensembles of neurons in deep brainstem structures. However, to fully understand complex behavior, it is fundamental to also decipher the intrinsic mechanisms of the underlying motor pattern generating circuits in the brainstem.

New Method

We report a light-weight system that simultaneously measures single-unit activity from a large number of recording sites in the brainstem of marmoset monkeys. It includes a base chamber fixed to the animal’s skull and a removable upper chamber that can be semi-chronically mounted to the base chamber to flexibly position an embedded micro-drive containing a 32-channel laminar probe to record from various positions within the brainstem for several weeks.

Results

The current system is capable of simultaneously recording stable single-unit activity from a large number of recording sites in the brainstem of vocalizing marmoset monkeys.

Comparison with Existing Methods

To the best of our knowledge, chronic systems to record from deep brainstem structures with multi-site laminar probes in awake, behaving monkeys do not yet exist.

Conclusions

The semi-chronic implantation of laminar electrodes into the brainstem of behaving marmoset monkeys opens new research possibilities in fully understanding the neural mechanisms underlying complex behaviors in marmoset monkeys.

10aCallithrix jacchus10aimplanted electrodes10alaminar multi-site microprobes10aprimates10asemi-chronic recordings10asingle-unit recordings1 aPomberger, Thomas1 aHage, Steffen, R. uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0165027018303406https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0165027018303406?httpAccept=text/xmlhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0165027018303406?httpAccept=text/plain