SURABHI RAMAWAT

Dottoressa di ricerca

ciclo: XXXIV



Titolo della tesi: Decision making driven by mental schemas: study of neuronal correlates of a transitive inference task in dorsal prefrontal and premotor cortex of primates

In several circumstances, decisions rely on a mental model of previously learned and connected information or events. If we learned that A > B in a given time, and in another moment, we learned that B > C, we can deduce that A > C even if were never observed together. This decision is possible because we implicitly organize related information on a metal representation where items are rank-ordered as A>B>C. This way to represent knowledge supports decision-making in several contexts, including inferential reasoning. Besides humans, many other species have been shown to rely on this ability to decide, including those requiring the solutions of Transitive Inference (TI) problems in different contexts. Many experimental models have been designed to study the cognitive and neuronal basis of TI and the mental organization of related information in humans and other animals. In this thesis, we explored the neuronal basis of decision-making during a non-verbal form of TI task in non-human primates. Previous neurophysiological studies have reported that neuronal activity in the Prefrontal cortex is modulated during inferential reasoning while an abstract mental schema of ranked items is accessed. In addition to PFC, recent studies in primates have reported a greater involvement of the premotor cortex in cognitively demanding tasks, such as TI. The neurons in the premotor cortex have been shown to encode abstract rules for selecting proper action. With this pretext, we compared the neuronal modulation of dorsal prefrontal (DLPFC) and premotor cortex (PMd) in monkeys while they performed a TI task during which they were required to choose the higher ranking item from a pair of abstract images, selected from a rank-ordered series (A>B>C>D>E>F). The monkeys had previously learned the adjacent relationships between the series items during the learning phase (e.g., A>B; B>C), while they were tested with ordinal pairings not presented to them during the learning (e.g., A vs C). During the decisions on these novel pairings, we observed that the choice accuracy increased and the reaction time decreased as the rank difference between the paired items increased. These results are evidence of the construction of an abstract mental schema by the monkey to solve the task. On a neuronal level, both areas exhibited a higher neuronal activity when the target item appeared at a specific spatial location as compared to the non-target item, and this difference was more prominent at lower degrees of difficulty. Furthermore, a comparison of the time evolution of this activity revealed that the target item position was encoded earlier in by DLPFC than PMd neurons. These results, along with previous neurophysiological studies, show that the neuronal activity in DLPFC is modulated when an abstract mental representation of ranked items is accessed during the test phase of a TI task. However, the question of how the neuronal encoding of the individual ranked items leading to this representation is shaped through learning is relatively unexplored. We addressed this question in the latter part of the thesis by investigating the single-cell activity from DLPFC during the learning phase and comparing this encoding of ranked items with the corresponding neuronal modulations in the test phase. As per our results, the DLPFC neurons indicate that the learning of the proximate relations between the pairs of items reshaped the neuronal encoding of the items’ rank and supported the representation of the item during the test phase. The results from both the studies presented in this thesis provide evidence of the involvement of DLPFC and PMd in decision making driven by mental schema and a role of DLPFC in encoding this schema to support flexible manipulation of serial information for taking decisions.

Produzione scientifica

11573/1697200 - 2023 - Static and dynamic coding in distinct cell types during associative learning in the prefrontal cortex
Ceccarelli, Francesco; Ferrucci, Lorenzo; Londei, Fabrizio; Ramawat, Surabhi; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Genovesio, Aldo - 01a Articolo in rivista
rivista: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (London: Nature Publishing Group) pp. 8325- - issn: 2041-1723 - wos: (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85179767250 (1)

11573/1679366 - 2023 - Reward prospect affects strategic adjustments in stop signal task
Giuffrida, V.; Marc, I. B.; Ramawat, S.; Fontana, R.; Fiori, L.; Bardella, G.; Fagioli, S.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E.; Pani, P. - 01a Articolo in rivista
rivista: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (Lausanne: Frontiers Editorial) pp. 1125066- - issn: 1664-1078 - wos: WOS:000961217800001 (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85152585440 (0)

11573/1682600 - 2023 - Functional network complexity reflects diverse reward contexts in macaque premotor cortex
Giuffrida, Valentina; Bardella, Giampiero; Ramawat, Surabhi; Marc, Isabel Beatrice; Fontana, Roberto; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Pani, Pierpaolo; Ferraina, Stefano - 04f Poster
congresso: Human Brain Project - Summit 2023 (Marisiglia - Francia)
libro: Human Brain Project - Summit 2023 - ()

11573/1692658 - 2023 - Neuronal population dynamics and network organizations reflect motivational context in monkey premotor cortex during movement execution and inhibition
Giuffrida, Valentina; Marc, Isabel Beatrice; Bardella, Giampiero; Ramawat, Surabhi; Fontana, Roberto; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Pani, Pierpaolo; Ferraina, Stefano - 04f Poster
congresso: NEUROSCIENCE ANNUAL MEETING 2023 (Washington, DC)
libro: Neuroscience 2023 abstracts - ()

11573/1692645 - 2023 - Local field potentials in macaque dorsal premotor cortex are modulated by the manipulation of acquired ordinal information in a transitive inference task
Marc, I. B.; Giuffrida, V.; Ramawat, S.; Andujar, M.; Bardella, G.; Pani, P.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 04f Poster
congresso: NEUROSCIENCE ANNUAL MEETING 2023 (Washington, DC)
libro: Neuroscience 2023 abstracts - ()

11573/1692647 - 2023 - Motor decision is influenced by the difficulty of solving a numerical comparison in a selective stop signal task
Marc, I.; Segreti, M.; Giuffrida, V.; Ramawat, S.; Paul, Ann; Bardella, G.; Pani, P.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 04f Poster
congresso: NEUROSCIENCE ANNUAL MEETING 2023 (Washington, DC)
libro: Neuroscience 2023 abstracts - ()

11573/1682738 - 2023 - The premises of a transitive inference task modulate the synchrony of local field potentials in macaque dorsal premoto rcortex
Marc, Isabel Beatrice; Bardella, Giampiero; Giuffrida, Valentina; Ramawat, Surabhi; Pani, Pierpaolo; Ferraina, Stefano; Brunamonti, Emiliano - 04f Poster
congresso: 13th Primate Neurobiology Meeting 2023 (Goettingen; Germany)
libro: The premises of a transitive inference task modulate the synchrony of local field potentials in macaque dorsal premotor cortex - ()

11573/1669953 - 2023 - Restart errors reaction time of a two-step inhibition process account for the violation of the race model’s independence in multi-effector selective stop signal task
Marc, Isabel Beatrice; Giuffrida, Valentina; Ramawat, Surabhi; Fiori, Lorenzo; Fontana, Roberto; Bardella, Giampiero; Fagioli, Sabrina; Ferraina, Stefano; Pani, Pierpaolo; Brunamonti, Emiliano - 01a Articolo in rivista
rivista: FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE (Lausanne : Frontiers Research Foundation) pp. - - issn: 1662-5161 - wos: WOS:000937342100001 (1) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85148654336 (1)

11573/1681947 - 2023 - The transitive inference task to study the neuronal correlates of memory-driven decision making: a monkey neurophysiology perspective
Ramawat, Surabhi; Marc, Isabel Beatrice; Ceccarelli, Francesco; Ferrucci, Lorenzo; Bardella, Giampiero; Ferraina, Stefano; Pani, Pierpaolo; Brunamonti, Emiliano - 01a Articolo in rivista
rivista: NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS (Elsevier Science Limited:Oxford Fulfillment Center, PO Box 800, Kidlington Oxford OX5 1DX United Kingdom:011 44 1865 843000, 011 44 1865 843699, EMAIL: asianfo@elsevier.com, tcb@elsevier.co.UK, INTERNET: http://www.elsevier.com, http://www.elsevier.com/locate/shpsa/, Fax: 011 44 1865 843010) pp. 105258- - issn: 0149-7634 - wos: WOS:001019059200001 (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85161351209 (0)

11573/1682673 - 2022 - Motor inhibition parameters are reflected in the kinetic and kinematic of gait initiation in a step version of the Stop Signal Task
Fiori, L.; Marc, I. B.; Ramawat, S.; Tatarelli, A.; Varrecchia, T.; Chini, G.; Ranavolo, A.; Draicchio, F.; Pani, P.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 01h Abstract in rivista
rivista: GAIT & POSTURE (editore attuale: ELSEVIER SCI IRELAND LTD, CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGER, BAY 15, SHANNON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE CO, CLARE, IRELAND Butterworth Heinemann Publishers:Linacre House Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP United Kingdom:011 44 1865 314569, EMAIL: bhmarketing@repp.co.uk, INTERNET: http://www.laxtonsprices.co.uk, Fax: 011 44 1865 314569) pp. 9- - issn: 0966-6362 - wos: (0) - scopus: (0)

11573/1621694 - 2022 - Different Contribution of the Monkey Prefrontal and Premotor Dorsal Cortex in Decision Making During a Transitive Inference Task
Ramawat, S.; Mione, V.; Di Bello, F.; Bardella, G.; Genovesio, A.; Pani, P.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 01a Articolo in rivista
rivista: NEUROSCIENCE (Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Oxford; New York: Pergamon Press) pp. 147-162 - issn: 0306-4522 - wos: WOS:000781963000003 (1) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85124416412 (2)

11573/1621825 - 2021 - Stable and dynamic response population coding in prefrontal cortex
Ceccarelli, Francesco; Londei, F.; Dibello, F.; Ramawat, S.; Marc, I. B.; Brunamonti, E.; Genovesio, A. - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
congresso: 71st SIF National Congress The Italian Society of Physiology (Milan (Online))
libro: 71st SIF National Congress - ()

11573/1621821 - 2021 - Forcing the winning horse: how the amount of force on a push button affects the inhibition of finger release in a stop signal task
Colangeli, S.; Ramawat, S.; Marc, I. B.; Pani, P.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
congresso: Neuroscience 2021 50th Annual Meeting (Chicago(Online))
libro: Neuroscience 2021 50th Annual Meeting - ()

11573/1621826 - 2021 - Formation of cell assemblies in the prefrontal cortex of macaque monkeys during a distance and a temporal discrimination task
Londei, Fabrizio; Ceccarelli, F.; Ferrucci, L.; Ramawat, S.; Marc, I. B.; Russo, E.; Genovesio, A. - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
congresso: 71st SIF National Congress (Milano (Online))
libro: 71st SIF National Congress - ()

11573/1621811 - 2021 - Failure of the race model accounting for inhibition in a stop signal selective task of upper and lower limb
Marc, I. B.; Romano, V.; Ramawat, S.; Fiori, L.; Andujar, M.; Londei, F.; Ceccarelli, F.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 04f Poster
congresso: 71st SIF National Congress (Milano (Online))
libro: 71st SIF National Congress - ()

11573/1621813 - 2021 - Differences in task-difficulty encoding during logical decision-making in prefrontal and premotor cortical activity from non-human primates
Ramawat, S.; Marc, I. B.; Andujar, M.; Ceccarelli, F.; Londei, F.; Pani, P.; Genovesio, A.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 04f Poster
congresso: 71st SIF National Congress The Italian Society of Physiology (Milan (Online))
libro: 71st SIF National Congress - ()

11573/1621931 - 2021 - Neuronal encoding of ranked items in primate prefrontal cortex during different phases of transitive inference task
Ramawat, S.; Mione, V.; Di Bello, F.; Pani, P.; Ferraina, S.; Brunamonti, E. - 04d Abstract in atti di convegno
congresso: Neuroscience 2021, SFN 50th Annual meeting (Chicago (Online))
libro: Neuroscience 2021 - ()

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