Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatelnosti Imeni I.P. Pavlova

Categorization is a cognitive process that leads to the ability to perceive similar but not identical stimuli as equivalent. To classify an object into a category, an animal must learn to recognize key features of a new object using the experience gained from previous interactions with similar objects. Due to this, categorization eliminates the need to examine each new object anew, significantly expanding the adaptive capabilities of the organism. The ability to categorize is inherent in animals with different types of organization of the nervous system. The review summarizes approaches to the study of visual categorization in birds – animals that have outstanding abilities for this process. Analysis of extensive data obtained in studies of visual categorization in different models in birds opens up the possibility of not only identifying the general biological neural bases and mechanisms of this process, but can also be used to expand the neuromorphic properties of artificial intelligence.

The review provides an analysis of modern cognitive psychological theories of emotions and neural basis of mechanisms standing behind retention of emotional information in working memory. The tendency seen in modern neurocognitive theories is characterized by the rejection of localization for any psychological functions in favor of network models, where higher-order processes are supported by distributed neural networks connecting functionally specific cortical and subcortical structure formations. Such networks are supposed to be able to reorganize themselves in accordance with goal-oriented behavior and task requirements. We analyze existing approaches to determine the cognition and emotion interactions, within which they can be considered both as competing systems and the components of a single mechanism of goal-oriented behavior, for example in case of affective working memory. We also provide a hypothesis for the potential neural basis of affective working memory based on large-scale distributed networks including saliency network, default mode network, and the frontoparietal network, considering the possibility of dynamic changes in the system and obtaining additional nodes, for example, associated with the processing of social information.

In the current study, we conducted a psychophysiological approbation of the previously developed Russian-language version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the statistical analysis, we included 40 subjects (13 males/27 females, mean age 22.5 ± 3.2 years). As a result, reproducible RMET-associated increases in the level of local neuronal activity compared to a control condition (age recognition) were found for a variety of brain structures that previously have shown to be involved in providing processes for affective state recognition from eye expression, including the inferior frontal gyrus, the supplementary motor cortex of both hemispheres, left precentral gyrus, and right middle/upper temporal gyrus. At the same time, the current work demonstrated new data about cerebellum and thalamus involvement in affective state recognition compared with age recognition during the RMET task, which was reported in isolated studies. Additionally, new effects of changes in local neuronal activity during the recognition of affective states have been observed. These findings clarify the role of the medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, left angular gyrus, and left middle/upper temporal gyrus in understanding the internal emotional and mental states of others. As a result of the fMRI study, the new Russian-language version of the RMET task was successfully tested. This approbation provided additional data that enhances our understanding of the brain structures involved in the affective aspects of mentalization-related processes.

Exploratory activity is a vital form of behavior influenced by the habitat and individual experiences of animals. To assess the roles of these factors, we studied exploratory behavior in an identical setting among three rodent species that differ in their ecological niches, navigation characteristics, and levels of individual experience: wild animals from natural populations — bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and the herb field mouse (Sylvaemus uralensis)—and C57BL/6J laboratory mice. Exploratory behavior was measure in a standardized open field test. To evaluate the influence of environmental novelty, animals had four sessions of empty open field exploration explored followed by four sessions in an enriched open field. Expert annotation of the behavioral patterns revealed that the animals engaged in 11 specific behavioral acts to explore the empty arena and 22 types of acts in the enriched arena. Notably, we identified specific behavioral acts in either wild rodents or laboratory mice. Bank voles displayed significantly less exploratory activity compared to the mouse species, which showed only slight differences in exploratory behavior. A key factor influencing the exploratory activity of the compared species was the enrichment of the arena with objects. The addition of objects not only increased the overall exploratory activity of the animals but also altered the structure of their exploratory behavior. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, the factor of environmental novelty had the least influence on behavior, with effects varying depending on specific behavioral forms and manifesting only in combination with other factors. The results reveal complex and nonlinear relationships among the factors determining rodent behavior in the open field task, which should be considered in analyzing the neural bases of this behavior and interpreting exploratory behavior in natural conditions.