ADVERTISEMENTs
.png)
Indian-origin researcher leads study on brain’s processing of social cues
Sharma and senior author Lizabeth Romanski found VLPFC neurons collectively process expressions, vocalizations, and social identity.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
Keshov Sharma / keshovsharma.com
Keshov Sharma, an Indian-origin neuroscientist, has led a study uncovering the role of a specific brain region in processing social cues.
The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, highlights how the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) integrates facial expressions, vocalizations, and other social signals.
A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rochester’s Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Sharma spearheaded the study, which used rhesus macaques to analyze neural responses. The team recorded the activity of over 400 neurons in the VLPFC while the animals watched videos of macaques displaying friendly, aggressive, or neutral vocalizations and expressions.
Individually, neurons showed complex and varied responses to social stimuli, making the data difficult to interpret initially. However, Sharma’s team applied machine learning techniques to study the collective activity of neural populations. The model successfully decoded the expression and identity of the macaques in the videos, demonstrating that the neurons work together to process social cues.
“We used dynamic, information-rich stimuli in our study and the responses we saw from single neurons were very complex. Initially, it was difficult to make sense of the data. t wasn’t until we studied how population activity correlated with the social information in our stimuli that we found a coherent structure. For us, it was like finally seeing a forest instead of a muddle of trees,” Sharma said.
The findings confirm the VLPFC as a crucial part of the brain’s social communication network, expanding upon earlier research from the Romanski Lab, which identified this region’s role in combining facial and vocal information.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Schmitt Program for Integrative Neuroscience. Additional authors include Mark Diltz of the University of Rochester Medical Center, Theodore Lincoln of Astrobotic Technology Inc., and Eric Albuquerque of the University of Miami School of Medicine.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
.png)
E Paper
ADVERTISEMENT
Video
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login