MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Our supplement Aim is to determine the role of neural synchrony in learning and implementing rules by recording neural activity with a denser electrode array. One of the vexing questions of systems neuroscience is how multiple types of information (e.g., rules, stimuli, possible responses, etc) be simultaneously held and coordinated in memory. These recent observations from our current NINDS project offer a tantalizing possibility: Rules and other related information are multiplexed into neural activity by synchronizing spikes to different frequencies and phases of synchronized oscillations in neural activity. We will determine this by modifying our system to allow denser placement of electrodes and will then record neural activity from the same brain areas and tasks used in our current NINDS grant. This will provide new insight into what is could be a new and important form of neural coding. In short, our use of supplemental funds to enhance our research goals and improve our recording capacity will likely have a positive effect on the economy that extends far beyond us because it will also inspire economic activity in other laboratories.