Monkey brain regions handled the same information in different ways—and changed behavior differently

A visual-motion region biased choices when stimulated, while a decision-related region produced winner-take-all outcomes.

Abstract editorial illustration accompanying the article: Monkey brain regions handled the same information in different ways—and changed behavior differently

Editorial illustration — not from the study.

Researchers compared the middle temporal area, which is involved in visual motion perception, with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is implicated in decision-making and reward. Both regions encoded motion and reward information, but the middle temporal area kept the information separate while the prefrontal cortex combined it in a decision-related format.

A recurrent network model trained to reproduce these patterns predicted different effects of stimulation. In experiments with monkeys, stimulating the middle temporal area biased choices, while stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex produced “winner-take-all” outcomes.

How the regions handled information

Both brain regions represented visual motion and reward information during the task. The middle temporal area represented the two sources separately, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex combined them in a format related to the decision. A recurrent network model reproduced these patterns and predicted different effects of stimulation: stimulation of the middle temporal area biased the monkeys’ choices, while stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex produced “winner-take-all” outcomes.

Why information format matters

The findings suggest that brain regions can differ not only in which information they represent, but also in how they organize that information. That formatting may help determine a region’s role in behavior, allowing brain systems to rework information for more complex tasks.

Evidence and caveats

The study combined experiments in monkeys with a recurrent network model. The model’s predictions about stimulation effects matched the observed difference between the two regions. The abstract describes results from a task involving these regions and does not establish whether the same patterns apply across other brain areas, behaviors or species.

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