2020年1月6日，美国磁共振研究中心Seng Bum Michael Yoo等研究人员在《自然—神经科学》在线发表论文，报道了预测追踪的神经基础。

研究人员使用了一种新颖的实验室追踪任务，其可以激发对猎物位置的预测。研究人员训练了三只猕猴来执行操纵杆控制的追捕任务，其中的猎物遵循智能逃逸算法。受试者的目标是猎物的未来位置，这表明他们会产生内部预测并用它们来指导行为。然后，研究人员开发了一个生成模型，其解释了实时的追踪轨迹，并表明测试对象使用猎物的位置、速度和加速度来进行预测。研究人员确定了背侧前扣带回皮质中的神经元，其反应跟踪了这三个变量。这些神经元将预测相关的变量与猎物未来的位置进行了复合运算。这些结果清楚地证明了大脑可以明确地代表未来的预测，并突出了前扣带回皮质在未来认知中的关键作用。

据了解，目前尚不清楚非人类动物是否以及在追踪过程中如何做出即时预测。

附：英文原文

Title: The neural basis of predictive pursuit

Author: Seng Bum Michael Yoo, Jiaxin Cindy Tu, Steven T. Piantadosi, Benjamin Yost Hayden

Issue&Volume: 2020-01-06

Abstract: It remains unclear whether and, if so, how nonhuman animals make on-the-fly predictions during pursuit. Here we used a novel laboratory pursuit task that incentivizes the prediction of future prey positions. We trained three macaques to perform a joystick-controlled pursuit task in which prey follow intelligent escape algorithms. Subjects aimed toward the likely future positions of the prey, which indicated that they generate internal predictions and use these to guide behavior. We then developed a generative model that explains real-time pursuit trajectories and showed that our subjects use prey position, velocity and acceleration to make predictions. We identified neurons in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex whose responses track these three variables. These neurons multiplexed prediction-related variables with a distinct and explicit representation of the future position of the prey. Our results provide a clear demonstration that the brain can explicitly represent future predictions and highlight the critical role of anterior cingulate cortex for future-oriented cognition.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0561-6

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-019-0561-6