Professor, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition Carnegie Mellon University Phone: (412) 268-3968 Fax: (412) 268-5060 Email: colson@cnbc.cmu.edu

Ph.D., University of California

Research Interests

Researchers in my laboratory study the brain mechanisms of cognition by recording from single neurons in the cerebral cortex of behaving monkeys. Our interests include spatial vision, visual pattern recognition and executive control.

Spatial vision encompasses a host of skills including the ability to see how parts are arranged in an object. Object-centered spatial vision is critical to various human activities including reading, which hinges on appreciating the arrangement of letters in a word. We study the neural underpinnings of object-centered spatial vision by recording from frontal and parietal neurons in monkeys trained to remember and respond to particular locations on objects.

Visual pattern recognition depends critically on inferotemporal cortex (IT), an area in which neurons respond selectively to particular visual images. We study the neural basis of pattern recognition by recording from single IT neurons while monkeys view natural and artificial images. One aim of current work is to determine whether IT neurons rare selective for the global attributes of an image (how the features are arranged in it) or simply to the local attributes (what features are present in it).

Executive control – deciding what to do moment by moment – depends on considering the consequences associated with particular actions and selecting the action that gives rise to the best outcome. We study the neural mechanisms of executive control by recording from neurons in frontal cortex while monkeys choose among actions that will result in different rewards or penalties. Neurons in some areas signal the emotional impact of an anticipated outcome (positive for reward and negative for penalty). Neuronal activity in other areas rises or falls according to how motivated the monkey is (regardless of whether motivation is driven by the promise of a reward or the threat of a penalty). We are interested in working out the neural processing stages by which emotional evaluation of consequences associated with actions gives rise to motivated behavior.

Recent Publications

• Sripati AP, Olson CR: Global image dissimilarity in macaque inferotemporal cortex predicts human visual search efficiency. J Neurosci 30: 1258-1269, 2010.
• Sripati AP, Olson CR: Seeing the forest before the trees: A global advantage effect in monkey inferotemporal cortex. J Neurosci 29: 7788-7796, 2009.
• Moorman DBT, Olson CR:  Impact of learning on representation of object-centered space in macaque supplementary eye field.  J Neurophysiol 97: 2159-2173, 2007.
• Roesch MR, Olson CR:  Neuronal activity in primate orbitofrontal cortex reflects the value of time.  J Neurophysiol 94: 2451-2471, 2005.
• Roesch MR, Olson CR:  Neuronal activity dependent on anticipated and elapsed delay in macaque prefrontal cortex, frontal and supplementary eye fields and premotor cortex.  J Neurophysiol 94: 1469-97, 2005.
• Roesch MR, Olson CR: 2004, Neuronal activity related to reward value and motivation in primate frontal cortex. Science 304: 307-310, 2004.
• Olson CR: Brain representation of object-centered space in monkeys and humans. Ann Rev Neurosci 26: 331-354, 2003.
• Roesch MR, Olson CR: Neuronal activity related to magnitude of predicted reward in macaque prefrontal cortex, frontal and supplementary eye fields and premotor cortex, J Neurophysiol 90: 1766-1789, 2003.
• Baker CI, Behrmann M, Olson CR: Impact of visual discrimination training on the representation of parts and wholes in monkey inferotemporal cortex. Nat Neurosci 5: 1210-1216, 2002.
• Rollenhagen JE, Olson CR: Mirror image confusion in single neurons of macaque inferotemporal cortex. Science 287: 1506-1508, 2000.