Intrinsic signal recording from a monkey whose behavior was maintained by a schedule of reinforcement.

Abstract

Optical recording of cortical activity in awake monkeys has enhanced our understanding of the functional anatomy of the primary visual cortex (V1). However, cortical representation of visual cognition has not been studied by optical recording, even though the greatest merit of using awake animals is that they can offer advantages in studying cognitive function that anesthetized animals cannot. Thus far, the optical recording method has not been combined with tasks that accompany body movements because of concern about movement noise, although behavioral tasks are helpful in the study of animal cognition. Here, I tested the influence of body movements during the signal acquisition period on the resultant images. I recorded the intrinsic signals associating with different orientations from V1 of a monkey who was emitting behavior during the signal acquisition period. Although the monkey's behavior was maintained on a variable-interval schedule that typically induces a high rate of response, orientation maps were consistently obtained. Therefore, a successful recording under this operant regimen implies the applicability of the optical recording method to other behavioral tasks. Several constraints in applying optical recording to studies using behaving animals are also discussed.