Abstract: Many cognitive neuroscience studies fall into one of two categories: basic science work aimed at understanding the relationship between brain and behavior, or translational work aimed at developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. But these approaches are at their best when they are used to inform and enhance each other. I will present an example of this unified approach. Our study both tests hypotheses about basic science neural coding principles and elucidates the neuronal mechanisms underlying new, clinically relevant behavioral effects of systemically administered methylphenidate (the active ingredient in Ritalin). We discovered that orally administered methylphenidate, used clinically to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and generally to enhance cognition, increases spatially selective visual attention, enhancing visual performance at only the attended location. And as predicted by a hypothesis that came from our previous work, we found that this causal manipulation enhances vision in rhesus macaques specifically when it decreases the mean correlated variability of neurons in visual area V4. Our findings demonstrate that the visual system is a platform for understanding the neural underpinnings of both complex cognitive processes (basic science) and neuropsychiatric disorders (translation). Addressing basic science hypotheses, our results are consistent with a scenario in which methylphenidate has cognitively specific effects by working through naturally selective cognitive mechanisms. Clinically, our findings suggest that the often staggeringly specific symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders may be caused and treated by leveraging general mechanisms. We hope that this study highlights the value of tightly interconnecting basic science and translational approaches.
Bio: Dr. Marlene Cohen is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Associate Director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at University of Pittsburgh. She is an awardee of the Troland Research Award, McKnight Scholar Award, and Sloan Research Fellowship, among her many honors.