Go

In the following lectures we discuss a typical laboratory task that a monkey might have to perform. We will follow the neural signal through the different brain areas and discuss the neural systems which are involved in performing this task. The monkey sits in a chair in front of a monitor. A set of pictures flashed on the monitor. One of these pictures contains a banana. The monitor goes blank and after a delay a 'Go ' command is shown. Now the monkey has to move a joystick to the point where the banana was. If the response is correct and within a certain time limit, it will get a reward. Such a simple task highlights the various tasks the nervous system has to do: • convert the picture into a neural signal • process and recognise the image • encode the task • remember the location of the banana • perform the arm movement, relative to the body position. • finally, the monkey needs to learn to perform the task, guided by the rewards it can earn