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Neuronal and Behavioral Responses to Naturalistic Texture Images in Macaque Monkeys

The visual world is richly adorned with texture, which can serve to delineate important elements of natural scenes. In anesthetized macaque monkeys, selectivity for the statistical features of natural texture is weak in V1, but substantial in V2, suggesting that neuronal activity in V2 might directly support texture perception. To test this, we investigated the relation between single cell activity in macaque V1 and V2 and simultaneously measured behavioral judgments of texture. We generated stimuli along a continuum between naturalistic texture and phase-randomized noise and trained two macaque monkeys to judge whether a sample texture more closely resembled one or the other extreme. Analysis of responses revealed that individual V1 and V2 neurons carried much less information about texture naturalness than behavioral reports. However, the sensitivity of V2 neurons, especially those preferring naturalistic textures, was significantly closer to that of behavior compared with V1. The firing of both V1 and V2 neurons predicted perceptual choices in response to repeated presentations of the same ambiguous stimulus in one monkey, despite low individual neural sensitivity. However, neither population predicted choice in the second monkey. We conclude that neural responses supporting texture perception likely continue to develop downstream of V2. Further, combined with neural data recorded while the same two monkeys performed an orientation discrimination task, our results demonstrate that choice-correlated neural activity in early sensory cortex is unstable across observers and tasks, untethered from neuronal sensitivity, and therefore unlikely to directly reflect the formation of perceptual decisions.




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Erratum: Spencer et al., "Regulation of the Mouse Ventral Tegmental Area by Melanin-Concentrating Hormone"




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Erratum: Rosenberg et al., "{beta}-Adrenergic Signaling Promotes Morphological Maturation of Astrocytes in Female Mice"




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Sequential Activation of Lateral Hypothalamic Neuronal Populations during Feeding and Their Assembly by Gamma Oscillations

Neural circuits supporting innate behaviors, such as feeding, exploration, and social interaction, intermingle in the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Although previous studies have shown that individual LH neurons change their firing relative to the baseline during one or more behaviors, the firing rate dynamics of LH populations within behavioral episodes and the coordination of behavior-related LH populations remain largely unknown. Here, using unsupervised graph-based clustering of LH neurons firing rate dynamics in freely behaving male mice, we identified distinct populations of cells whose activity corresponds to feeding, specific times during feeding bouts, or other innate behaviors—social interaction and novel object exploration. Feeding-related cells fired together with a higher probability during slow and fast gamma oscillations (30–60 and 60–90 Hz) than during nonrhythmic epochs. In contrast, the cofiring of neurons signaling other behaviors than feeding was overall similar between slow gamma and nonrhythmic epochs but increased during fast gamma oscillations. These results reveal a neural organization of ethological hierarchies in the LH and point to behavior-specific motivational systems, the dysfunction of which may contribute to mental disorders.




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Retinal Input to Macaque Superior Colliculus Derives from Branching Axons Projecting to the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

The superior colliculus receives a direct projection from retinal ganglion cells. In primates, it remains unknown if the same ganglion cells also supply the lateral geniculate nucleus. To address this issue, a double-label experiment was performed in two male macaques. The animals fixated a target while injection sites were scouted in the superior colliculus by recording and stimulating with a tetrode. Once suitable sites were identified, cholera toxin subunit B-Alexa Fluor 488 was injected via an adjacent micropipette. In a subsequent acute experiment, cholera toxin subunit B-Alexa Fluor 555 was injected into the lateral geniculate nucleus at matching retinotopic locations. After a brief survival period, ganglion cells were examined in retinal flatmounts. The percentage of double-labeled cells varied locally, depending on the relative efficiency of retrograde transport by each tracer and the precision of retinotopic overlap of injection sites in each target nucleus. In counting boxes with extensive overlap, 76–98% of ganglion cells projecting to the superior colliculus were double labeled. Cells projecting to the superior colliculus constituted 4.0–6.7% of the labeled ganglion cell population. In one particularly large zone, there were 5,746 cells labeled only by CTB-AF555, 561cells double labeled by CTB-AF555 and CTB-AF488, but no cell labeled only by CTB-AF488. These data indicate that retinal input to the macaque superior colliculus arises from a collateral axonal branch supplied by ~5% of the ganglion cells that project to the lateral geniculate nucleus. Surprisingly, there exist no ganglion cells that project exclusively to the SC.




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Erratum: McCosh et al., "Norepinephrine Neurons in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract Suppress Luteinizing Hormone Secretion in Female Mice"




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The Hippocampus Preorders Movements for Skilled Action Sequences

Plasticity in the subcortical motor basal ganglia–thalamo–cerebellar network plays a key role in the acquisition and control of long-term memory for new procedural skills, from the formation of population trajectories controlling trained motor skills in the striatum to the adaptation of sensorimotor maps in the cerebellum. However, recent findings demonstrate the involvement of a wider cortical and subcortical brain network in the consolidation and control of well-trained actions, including a brain region traditionally associated with declarative memory—the hippocampus. Here, we probe which role these subcortical areas play in skilled motor sequence control, from sequence feature selection during planning to their integration during sequence execution. An fMRI dataset (N = 24; 14 females) collected after participants learnt to produce four finger press sequences entirely from memory with high movement and timing accuracy over several days was examined for both changes in BOLD activity and their informational content in subcortical regions of interest. Although there was a widespread activity increase in effector-related striatal, thalamic, and cerebellar regions, in particular during sequence execution, the associated activity did not contain information on the motor sequence identity. In contrast, hippocampal activity increased during planning and predicted the order of the upcoming sequence of movements. Our findings suggest that the hippocampus preorders movements for skilled action sequences, thus contributing to the higher-order control of skilled movements that require flexible retrieval. These findings challenge the traditional taxonomy of episodic and procedural memory and carry implications for the rehabilitation of individuals with neurodegenerative disorders.




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Could Anyone Bring an Extinct Animal Back to Life? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts




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Quincy Jones Was a ‘Musician’s Musician’ Who Was Uniquely Beloved in the Cutthroat Music Industry

A Smithsonian curator reflects back on the artistic legend, a "Renaissance man" with 28 Grammys to his name, who died Sunday at 91 years old




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Family farmers' market being held in FAO headquarters Atrium

Family farming is inextricably linked to national and global food security. Both in developing and developed countries, family farming is the leading form of agriculture in food production. Family farmers [...]




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Saudi Arabia helps FAO respond to the dire state of food security in Iraq

Bagdad/Rome - FAO is scaling-up critical food and agriculture assistance to highly vulnerable rural households in Iraq thanks to a generous $14.7 million grant from Saudi Arabia. The donation is [...]




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Queen Letizia of Spain to attend the Second International Conference on Nutrition

Rome/New York – Queen Letizia of Spain will join international efforts against hunger and [...]




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FAO Director-General appoints Jacques Diouf as FAO Special Envoy for the Sahel and the Horn of Africa

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today appointed Jacques Diouf as Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.

In his new role, the former Director-General Jacques Diouf will [...]





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The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2022

The 2022 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture coincides with the launch of the Decade of Action to deliver the Global Goals, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science [...]




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FAO Technical Briefing “Integrated Water Resources Management for Food Security and Climate Resilience"

26 October 2022, 09.00-16.00 (CEST)

Water is a fundamental resource enabling the production of over 95% of food on land as well the progress of all sustainable development goals [...]




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171st Session of the FAO Council Statement By Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

A statement by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu




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In his International Youth Day 2023 message, QU Dongyu announces the establishment of FAO's new Office for Youth and Women

The FAO Director-General today issued the following message on the occasion of International Youth Day 2023:

Full Article



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FAO invites all Members to the Celebration of the World Wetlands Day at FAO Headquarters

World Wetlands Day raises global awareness of the importance of wetlands for human prosperity and a healthy planet. The 2024 theme "Wetlands and Human Wellbeing" focuses on the interconnectedness between [...]




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FAO GLOBEFISH Celebrates 40 years of impact on global fisheries and aquaculture trade

For the past four decades, FAO GLOBEFISH has been a cornerstone of global fisheries and aquaculture market analysis. Since its inception in 1984, the project has provided [...]




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Advancing sustainable inland fisheries and aquaculture in Europe: EIFAAC hosts 32nd Session and International Symposium

The European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC) is dedicated to the sustainable development and responsible management of European inland fisheries and aquaculture. In line with the [...]




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Y por qué el queso se dispuso 
 A ejercer proezas en Francia?




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Q & A: Joel Kotkin

How will populations change in the United States over the next 40 years? Interview by Terence Monmaney Special Thanks to Joel Kotkin




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Q & A: Vincent Cerf

Vice president of engineering and chief evangelist at Google on the connected world in 2050




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Jose Gomez-Marquez Wants to Turn Every Doctor and Nurse into a Maker

Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter interviews the co-founder of MIT’s Little Devices Lab about democratizing health technology




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Jim Anderson's Quest to Solve Climate Change

The American Ingenuity Award winner warns that no place on Earth is safe from the dangers of global warming




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Baby Talk From a Rhesus Macaque

Watch how a mother rhesus makes funny faces to her infant child to grab its attention




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Inspiring Questions in the Museum




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Ask Smithsonian: Is Quicksand Real?

Can quicksand really swallow you up, or does that just happen in the movies? Host Eric Schulze dives in to separate science fact from science fiction."




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With "Master of None," Aziz Ansari Has Created a True American Original

Aziz Ansari | Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Award Winner for Performing Arts The actor, comedian and author is being honored for his starring role as Dev Shah in “Master of None,” the Netflix series that he created with Alan Yang. Like the character he plays, Ansari is the son of Indian immigrant parents, and his smart, surprising take on life, love, technology and cultural identity in the United States has helped make the show “the year’s best comedy straight out of the gate,” as the New York Times put it. Among Ansari’s other accomplishments are his unforgettable portrayal of the loopy Tom Haverford on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” his best-selling book about dating in the internet age, Modern Romance (co-authored with Eric Klinenberg), and his blockbuster stand-up act that sold out Madison Square Garden. Read more about Ansari’s work: http://smithmag.co/jvdAaL | #IngenuityAwards And more about the American Ingenuity Awards: http://smithmag.co/77xPqy




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The World's First "Yoga" Film

Thomas Edison's 1902 trick film, "Hindoo Fakir," depicts an Indian fakir-yogi performing a magic act.




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Scientists Didn't Know Much About Earthquakes Before 1933

On March 10, 1933, a major earthquake caught the Los Angeles area by surprise. The devastation was of sufficient scale to spur scientific interest in earthquakes—and how to predict them.




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Using Questions in the Classroom




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Richard Saul Wurman, Creator of TED Conference: "I Hate Being Spoken To"

Richard Saul Wurman, the founder of the popular speaker series, shares his ideas for how to make learning more interesting




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Cai Guo-Qiang Makes a 40-Foot-Tall Pine Tree Explode

Read more about the event here: http://j.mp/TyPfBO The world famous Chinese artist uses pyrotechnics to turn a 40-foot-tall pine tree into an optical illusion.




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How the Osage Changed Martin Scorsese’s Mind About "Killers of the Flower Moon"

A true-life saga involving organized crime, racial prejudice, and evolving American identity, David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I. seemed at first glance like a perfect fit for Martin Scorsese, the beloved filmmaker whose dozens of critically adored movies include Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, and The Departed. But when Jim Gray, a former chief of the Osage Nation, and other Osage leaders invited the filmmaker to Oklahoma to hear their concerns about his new project, Scorsese came. Scorsese listened. And then he rewrote and reconfigured Killers of the Flower Moon from soup to nuts, with a result that has earned a rapturous response from Native viewers like Gray and journalist Sandra Hale Schulman, and from the broader critical community, too. The movie opens in theatres tomorrow and will appear on the Apple+ streaming service before the end of the year. In this episode, Schulman walks me through a brief history of how Native Americans have been depicted in a century’s worth of movies. Then, Chief Gray tells me about his personal connection to Killers of the Flower Moon, the pattern of Native American erasure from national discourse, and how he and his colleagues persuaded Scorsese to rethink the new movie. A transcript of this episode can be found here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/how-the-osage-changed-martin-scorseses-mind-180983094smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/how-the-osage-changed-martin-scorseses-mind-180983094) . Sandra’s Smithsonian story about Native representation in cinema is here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-native-representation-in-film-180983043/) . You can learn more about Sandra and her work at her site (http://www.sandraschulman.com/) . Dennis McAuliffe Jr.’s The Deaths of Sybil Bolton: An American History, which Chief Gray cites as formative in this episode, is here (https://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Sybil-Bolton-American-History/dp/081292150X) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Terence Bernardo, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




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Former Poet Laureate Billy Collins Reads "The Unfortunate Traveler"

Smithsonian magazine's poetry consultant recites his poem commissioned for a special photography issue




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The Man Behind "Manhunt"

Before it was even published in 2006, historian James Swanson’s book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer attracted the notice of Hollywood. After several prior attempts to adapt the nonfiction thriller for the screen, the first two episodes of the seven-part Apple TV+ miniseries Manhunt finally premiered on March 15, with the subsequent five arriving weekly. Meet Swanson — a self-described Lincoln obsessive — and hear about what moved him to write the book, what his role in its long-gestating adaptation was, and how he came to be so obsessed with our most-admired president in the first place. Smithsonian magazine related articles: The real history behind the events dramatized in “Manhunt,” (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-history-behind-apple-tvs-manhunt-and-the-search-for-abraham-lincolns-killer-180983943/)   James Swanson’s favorite Lincoln artifacts (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-blood-relics-from-the-lincoln-assassination-180954331/) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




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Three Years After "We Will Bury You," Nikita Khrushchev Tours America

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Nikita-in-Hollywood.html As part of a diplomatic mission, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev traveled across the United States, meeting Americans from New York to Iowa to California.




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Colombia Dispatch Video: Palenque: A Piece of Africa in Sout

Four hundred years ago, escaped slaves formed the village of Palenque. The town’s younger generations have reconnected with their African roots through cultural traditions handed down from their ancestors (Kenneth Fletcher/SmithsonianMag.com). Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/colombia-dispatches.html




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New Discoveries at Saqqara

An incredible trove of archaeological artifacts has been unearthed once again at Saqqara—including 100 coffins, and incredibly rare statues dating back 4,500 years.




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A Fascinating Structure Inside Ancient Tomb: "False Door" to the Underworld

Archaeologists uncover an exciting find: a tomb that predates most of the others in the area by around 2,000 years. Inside, is a series of perfectly preserved inscriptions on a panel known as a "false door’."




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The Quirky Ways of the Postal Service

Over the years, the mail has been delivered by train, donkey, bus, truck and even rocket (Produced by: Boaz Frankel )




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Why Seahorses Have Square Tails

Used more for grasping than locomotion, seahorse tails are both flexible and uniquely strong. (Video courtesy Dominique Adriaens, UGent)




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Ask Smithsonian: Is Fire a Solid, Liquid or Gas?

It's been helping humans in myriad ways for over a million years, our host Eric Schulze has more




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Painter Arcimboldo and His Unique Style of Portraiture

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Arcimboldos-Feast-for-the-Eyes.html The Hapsburg Dynasty's court painter's unique style of portraiture, using fruits, vegetables and animals to compose his faces -- has fascinated artists and the general public for centuries.




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"Experiments With David Atwood" by Artist Nam June Paik

A clip from the father of video art's 1969 piece




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Buzz Aldrin and Thomas Dolby Perform "She Blinded Me With Science"

Some of the brightest minds in the world gathered at Smithsonian's "The Future is Here" conference to discuss the great triumphs and future innovations in science and technology http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ideas-innovations/The-Future-is-Here.html




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Greenland Video: The Daily Life in Niaqornat

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/In-Search-of-the-Mysterious-Narwhal.html Staff writer Abigail Tucker relates her experiences reporting from the small Arctic village of narwhal hunters.




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Ask Smithsonian: Can Animals Predict Earthquakes and Other Natural Disasters?

Our host, Eric Schulze, explains how science is tackling this puzzling question from space.