# PREFRONTAL CIRCUITS OF WORKING MEMORY

> **NIH NIH R34** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $724,235

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Working memory, the ability to maintain and manipulate in formation in memory over a period of seconds, is a
critical component of higher cognitive functions. Neurons in the prefrontal cortex and other brain areas
continue to discharge during the maintenance of working memory however, little direct evidence exists on how
neurons of different types organize into functional circuits to subserve these functions. A theoretical proposal,
known as the Division-of-Labor model, has proposed that different types of interneurons in the prefrontal cortex
play distinct roles with respect to attention. We propose to test the model in an awake, behaving non-human
primate model. We will focus on one interneuron type, that expressing somatostatin, which we will identify
through viral transfection and optogenetic methods. We will characterize the response properties of SST
neurons in awake behaving monkeys performing visual-spatial attention tasks, determine the relative
contributions of SST neurons in the local circuit that is activated during the task, and manipulate their activity
through optogenetic means. This project will allow us the unprecedented ability to characterize and manipulate
a neural circuit that controls a higher cognitive function (working memory) as model of understanding the
circuits that underlie higher cognition.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10446082
- **Project number:** 1R34NS127100-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTOS CONSTANTINIDIS
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $724,235
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-15 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10446082

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10446082, PREFRONTAL CIRCUITS OF WORKING MEMORY (1R34NS127100-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-02 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10446082. Licensed CC0.

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