Model of co-operation between recency, familiarity and novelty neurons in the perirhinal cortex

Much evidence indicates that discrimination of the familiarity of visual stimuli is dependent on the perirhinal cortex of the temporal lobe. Within the monkey's perirhinal cortex, ∼25% of neurons respond strongly to the sight of novel objects but respond only weakly or briefly when these objects are seen again. These neurons can be divided into three populations based on their patterns of responsiveness. Specific temporal dependencies exist among the activities of the three populations of neurons, suggesting the existence of specific connections between them. This report concerns computer modelling that indicates how such connections may be used to increase reliability in the determination of whether or not a stimulus is being seen for the first time.