VISUAL NEURONS WITH HIGHER SELECTIVITY CAN RETAIN MEMORY IN THE MONKEY TEMPORAL CORTEX

Activities of individual neurons were recorded from the superior temporal sulcus (STS) of rhesus monkeys during the performance of a visual discrimination and memory task. Of 174 neurons analyzed in detail, 19 neurons showed sustained changes in discharge rates during the delay period (D neurons). All the D neurons showed responses during the presentation of the same stimulus and had higher selectivity compared to the remaining non-D neurons. The data indicated that a subgroup of highly selective visual neurons in the STS participate in short-term retention of these stimuli.