A large-scale circuit mechanism for hierarchical dynamical processing in the primate cortex

We developed a large-scale dynamical model of the macaque neocortex based on recent quantitative connectivity data. A hierarchy of timescales naturally emerges from this system: sensory areas show brief, transient responses to input (appropriate for sensory processing), whereas association areas integrate inputs over time and exhibit persistent activity (suitable for decision-making and working memory). The model displays multiple temporal hierarchies, as evidenced by contrasting responses to visual and somatosensory stimulation. Moreover, slower prefrontal and temporal areas have a disproportionate impact on global brain dynamics. These findings establish for the first time a circuit mechanism for \"temporal receptive windows\" that are progressively enlarged along the cortical hierarchy, extend the concept of working memory from local to large circuits, and suggest a re-interpretation of functional connectivity measures.\n\nConflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing financial interests.\n\nAcknowledgementsWe thank Nikola Markov and John Murray for discussions. This work was supported by ONR grant N00014-13-1-0297 and NIH grant R01MH062349 (X.-J.W.) and by ANR-11-BSV4-501 and LABEX CORTEX (ANR-11-LABX-0042) of Universite de Lyon, program \"Investissements dAvenir\" (ANR-11-IDEX-0007) operated by the French National Research Agency (H.K.). The connectivity data is available at www.core-nets.org.