Laterality of Movement-Related Activity Reflects Transformation of Coordinates in Ventral Premotor Cortex and Primary Motor Cortex of Monkeys

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 2008-2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Kurata
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Visuomotor Transformation ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Reaching Task ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Target Locations

The ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and the primary motor cortex (MI) of monkeys participate in various sensorimotor integrations, such as the transformation of coordinates from visual to motor space, because the areas contain movement-related neuronal activity reflecting either visual or motor space. In addition to relationship to visual and motor space, laterality of the activity could indicate stages in the visuomotor transformation. Thus we examined laterality and relationship to visual and motor space of movement-related neuronal activity in the PMv and MI of monkeys performing a fast-reaching task with the left or right arm, toward targets with visual and motor coordinates that had been dissociated by shift prisms. We determined laterality of each activity quantitatively and classified it into four types: activity that consistently depended on target locations in either head-centered visual coordinates (V-type) or motor coordinates (M-type) and those that had either differential or nondifferential activity for both coordinates (B- and N-types). A majority of M-type neurons in the areas had preferences for reaching movements with the arm contralateral to the hemisphere where neuronal activity was recorded. In contrast, most of the V-type neurons were recorded in the PMv and exhibited less laterality than the M-type. The B- and N-types were recorded in the PMv and MI and exhibited intermediate properties between the V- and M-types when laterality and correlations to visual and motor space of them were jointly examined. These results suggest that the cortical motor areas contribute to the transformation of coordinates to generate final motor commands.

Neuronal Activity in the Ventral Part of Premotor Cortex During Target-Reach Movement is Modulated by Direction of Gaze

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 567-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajime Mushiake ◽  
Yasuyuki Tanatsugu ◽  
Jun Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Motor Command ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Fixation Target ◽  
Ventral Part ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Reaching Task ◽  
Command Signals

Mushiake, Hajime, Yasuyuki Tanatsugu, and Jun Tanji. Neuronal activity in the ventral part of premotor cortex during target-reach movement is modulated by direction of gaze. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 567–571, 1997. We recorded 200 neurons from the ventral part of the premotor cortex (PMv) and 110 neurons from the primary motor cortex (MI) of a monkey performing a visually cued arm-reaching task with a delay. We compared neuronal activity in the premovement period while the monkey reached the target with the eyes fixating on either a left or right fixation target. Our data demonstrate that about half of the movement-related activity in the PMv was modulated by the direction of gaze. In contrast, a vast majority of the activity of MI neurons and about half of PMv neurons were not influenced by the direction of gaze. We further analyzed the movement-related activity during the reaching movement to targets at the top, bottom, left, and right of each fixation point. The magnitude of activity of neurons showing the gaze-direction selectivity was primarily determined by the position of the reaching target relative to the eye-fixation target, and not by the position of the target relative to the animal's body. These data suggest that a part of the coordinate transformation of the motor command signals concerning the direction of reaching from the retinotopic to body-centered frame of reference may occur at the level of premotor cortex but not in MI.

Activity Properties and Location of Neurons in the Motor Thalamus That Project to the Cortical Motor Areas in Monkeys

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 550-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Kurata
Keyword(s):  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Movement Time ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Somatosensory Stimulus ◽  
Preparation Period ◽  
Sustained Change ◽  
Motor Areas

The activity of neurons in the motor nuclei of the thalamus that project to the cortical motor areas (the primary motor cortex, the ventral and dorsal premotor cortex, and the supplementary motor area) was investigated in monkeys that were performing a task in which wrist extension and flexion movements were instructed by visuospatial cues before the onset of movement. Movement was triggered by a visual, auditory, or somatosensory stimulus. Thalamocortical neurons were identified by a spike collision, and exhibited 2 distinct types of task-related activity: 1) a sustained change in activity during the instructed preparation period in response to the instruction cues (set-related activity); and 2) phasic changes in activity during the reaction and movement time periods (movement-related activity). A number of set- and moment-related neurons exhibited direction selectivity. Most movement-related neurons were similarly active, irrespective of the different sensory modalities of the cue for movement. These properties of neuronal activity were similar, regardless of their target cortical motor areas. There were no significant differences in the antidromic latencies of neurons that projected to the primary and nonprimary motor areas. These results suggest that the thalamocortical neurons play an important role in the preparation for, and initiation and execution of, the movements, but are less important than neurons of the nonprimary cortical motor areas in modality-selective sensorimotor transformation. It is likely that such transformations take place within the nonprimary cortical motor areas, but not through thalamocortical information channels.

Reacquisition Deficits in Prism Adaptation After Muscimol Microinjection Into the Ventral Premotor Cortex of Monkeys

1999 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 1927-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Kurata ◽  
Eiji Hoshi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Prism Adaptation ◽  
Horizontal Distance ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Dorsal Premotor Cortex ◽  
Reaching Task ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Target Locations

Reacquisition deficits in prism adaptation after muscimol microinjection into the ventral premotor cortex of monkeys. A small amount of muscimol (1 μl; concentration, 5 μg/μl) was injected into the ventral and dorsal premotor cortex areas (PMv and PMd, respectively) of monkeys, which then were required to perform a visually guided reaching task. For the task, the monkeys were required to reach for a target soon after it was presented on a screen. While performing the task, the monkeys’ eyes were covered with left 10°, right 10°, or no wedge prisms, for a block of 50–100 trials. Without the prisms, the monkeys reached the targets accurately. When the prisms were placed, the monkeys initially misreached the targets because the prisms displaced the visual field. Before the muscimol injection, the monkeys adapted to the prisms in 10–20 trials, judging from the horizontal distance between the target location and the point where the monkey touched the screen. After muscimol injection into the PMv, the monkeys lost the ability to readapt and touched the screen closer to the location of the targets as seen through the prisms. This deficit was observed at selective target locations, only when the targets were shifted contralaterally to the injected hemisphere. When muscimol was injected into the PMd, no such deficits were observed. There were no changes in the reaction and movement times induced by muscimol injections in either area. The results suggest that the PMv plays an important role in motor learning, specifically in recalibrating visual and motor coordinates.

Effects of Forced Use on the Ventral Premotor Cortex Distal Forelimb Representation After Ischemic Infarct in Primary Motor Cortex

PM&R ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. S158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn B. Frost ◽  
Daofen Chen ◽  
Scott Barbay ◽  
Kathleen M. Friel ◽  
Erik J. Plautz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Ischemic Infarct

Movement-Related Neuronal Activity Reflecting the Transformation of Coordinates in the Ventral Premotor Cortex of Monkeys

2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 3118-3132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Kurata ◽  
Eiji Hoshi
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Movement Time ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Behavioral Task ◽  
Movement Onset ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex

We examined how the transformation of coordinates from visual to motor space is reflected by neuronal activity in the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) of monkeys. Three monkeys were trained to reach with their right hand for a target that appeared on a screen. While performing the task, the monkeys wore prisms that shifted the image of the target 10°, left or right, or wore no prisms, for a block of 200 trials. The nine targets were located in the same positions in visual space regardless of whether the prisms were present. Wearing the prisms required the monkeys to initiate a movement in a direction that was different from the apparent target location. Thus using the prisms, we could dissociate visual space from motor space. While the monkey performed the behavioral task, we recorded neuronal activity in the left PMv and primary motor cortex (MI), and various kinds of task-related neuronal activity were found in the motor areas. These included neurons that changed their activity during a reaction time (RT) period (the period between target presentation and movement onset), which were called “movement-related neurons” and selected for analysis. In these neurons, activity during a movement time (MT) period was also compared. Using general linear models for our statistical analysis, the neurons were then classified into four types: those whose activity was consistently dependent on location of targets in the visual coordinates regardless of whether the prisms were present or absent (V type); those that were consistently dependent on target location in the motor coordinates only; those that had different activity for both of the motor and visual coordinates; and those that had nondifferential activity for the two types of coordinates. The proportion of the four types of the neurons differed significantly between the PMv and MI. Most remarkably, neurons with V-type activity were almost exclusively recorded in the PMv and were almost exclusively found during the RT period. Such activity was never observed in an electromyogram of the working forelimb. Based on these observations, we postulate that the V and other types may represent the various intermediate stages of the transformation of coordinates and that the PMv plays a crucial role in transforming coordinates from visual to motor space.

Facilitation From Ventral Premotor Cortex of Primary Motor Cortex Outputs to Macaque Hand Muscles

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 832-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Cerri ◽  
H. Shimazu ◽  
M. A. Maier ◽  
R. N. Lemon
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Macaque Monkey ◽  
Hand Muscles ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Cortex Area ◽  
Light Sedation ◽  
Cortical Inputs ◽  
Motor Representations

We demonstrate that in the macaque monkey there is robust, short-latency facilitation by ventral premotor cortex (area F5) of motor outputs from primary motor cortex (M1) to contralateral intrinsic hand muscles. Experiments were carried out on two adult macaques under light sedation (ketamine plus medetomidine HCl). Facilitation of hand muscle electromyograms (EMG) was tested using arrays of fine intracortical microwires implanted, respectively, in the wrist/digit motor representations of F5 and M1, which were identified by previous mapping with intracortical microstimulation. Single pulses (70–200 μA) delivered to F5 microwires never evoked any EMG responses, but small responses were occasionally seen with double pulses (interval: 3 ms) at high intensity. However, both single- and double-pulse stimulation of F5 could facilitate the EMG responses evoked from M1 by single shocks. The facilitation was large (up to 4-fold with single and 12-fold with double F5 shocks) and occurred with an early onset, with significant effects at intervals of only 1–2 ms between conditioning F5 and test M1 stimuli. A number of possible pathways could be responsible for these effects, although it is argued that the most likely mechanism would be the facilitation, by cortico-cortical inputs from F5, of corticospinal I wave activity evoked from M1. This facilitatory action could be of considerable importance for the coupling of grasp-related neurons in F5 and M1 during visuomotor tasks.

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