Reference frame conversions for visually-guided arm movements

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 933-933
Author(s):  
G. U. Sorrento ◽  
D. Y. P. Herniques
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Visually Guided

Reference Frames for Reach Planning in Macaque Dorsal Premotor Cortex

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 966-983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron P. Batista ◽  
Gopal Santhanam ◽  
Byron M. Yu ◽  
Stephen I. Ryu ◽  
Afsheen Afshar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Electrode Arrays ◽  
Reference Frame Transformation ◽  
Frame Transformation ◽  
Visual Reference Frame ◽  
Reach Planning ◽  
The Brain

When a human or animal reaches out to grasp an object, the brain rapidly computes a pattern of muscular contractions that can acquire the target. This computation involves a reference frame transformation because the target's position is initially available only in a visual reference frame, yet the required control signal is a set of commands to the musculature. One of the core brain areas involved in visually guided reaching is the dorsal aspect of the premotor cortex (PMd). Using chronically implanted electrode arrays in two Rhesus monkeys, we studied the contributions of PMd to the reference frame transformation for reaching. PMd neurons are influenced by the locations of reach targets relative to both the arm and the eyes. Some neurons encode reach goals using limb-centered reference frames, whereas others employ eye-centered reference fames. Some cells encode reach goals in a reference frame best described by the combined position of the eyes and hand. In addition to neurons like these where a reference frame could be identified, PMd also contains cells that are influenced by both the eye- and limb-centered locations of reach goals but for which a distinct reference frame could not be determined. We propose two interpretations for these neurons. First, they may encode reach goals using a reference frame we did not investigate, such as intrinsic reference frames. Second, they may not be adequately characterized by any reference frame.

scholarly journals Neuronal Activity Related to the Visual Representation of Arm Movements in the Lateral Cerebellar Cortex

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 1223-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuguang Liu ◽  
Edwin Robertson ◽  
R. Christopher Miall
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Cerebellar Cortex ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Visual Outcome ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Increased Activity

Testing the hypothesis that the lateral cerebellum forms a sensory representation of arm movements, we investigated cortical neuronal activity in two monkeys performing visually guided step-tracking movements with a manipulandum. A virtual target and cursor image were viewed co-planar with the manipulandum. In the normal task, manipulandum and cursor moved in the same direction; in the mirror task, the cursor was left-right reversed. In one monkey, 70- and 200-ms time delays were introduced on cursor movement. Significant task-related activity was recorded in 31 cells in one animal and 142 cells in the second: 10.2% increased activity before arm movements onset, 77.1% during arm movement, and 12.7% after the new position was reached. To test for neural representation of the visual outcome of movement, firing rate modulation was compared in normal and mirror step-tracking. Most task-related neurons (68%) showed no significant directional modulation. Of 70 directionally sensitive cells, almost one-half ( n = 34, 48%) modulated firing with a consistent cursor movement direction, many fewer responding to the manipulandum direction ( n = 9, 13%). For those “cursor-related” cells tested with delayed cursor movement, increased activity onset was time-locked to arm movement and not cursor movement, but activation duration was extended by an amount similar to the applied delay. Hence, activity returned to baseline about when the delayed cursor reached the target. We conclude that many cells in the lateral cerebellar cortex signaled the direction of cursor movement during active step-tracking. Such a predictive representation of the arm movement could be used in the guidance of visuo-motor actions.

scholarly journals Spatial Memory Following Shifts of Gaze. I. Saccades to Memorized World-Fixed and Gaze-Fixed Targets

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 2564-2576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin T. Baker ◽  
Timothy M. Harper ◽  
Lawrence H. Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Gaze Shift ◽  
Representational System ◽  
The World ◽  
Spatial Locations ◽  
Sequence Characteristics

During a shift of gaze, an object can move along with gaze or stay fixed in the world. To examine the effect of an object's reference frame on spatial working memory, we trained monkeys to memorize locations of visual stimuli as either fixed in the world or fixed to gaze. Each trial consisted of an initial reference frame instruction, followed by a peripheral visual flash, a memory-period gaze shift, and finally a memory-guided saccade to the location consistent with the instructed reference frame. The memory-period gaze shift was either rapid (a saccade) or slow (smooth pursuit or whole body rotation). This design allowed a comparison of memory-guided saccade performance under various conditions. Our data indicate that after a rotation or smooth-pursuit eye movement, saccades to memorized world-fixed targets are more variable than saccades to memorized gaze-fixed targets. In contrast, memory-guided saccades to world- and gaze-fixed targets are equally variable following a visually guided saccade. Across all conditions, accuracy, latency, and main sequence characteristics of memory-guided saccades are not influenced by the target's reference frame. Memory-guided saccades are, however, more accurate after fast compared with slow gaze shifts. These results are most consistent with an eye-centered representational system for storing the spatial locations of memorized objects but suggest that the visual system may engage different mechanisms to update the stored signal depending on how gaze is shifted.

Neuronal activity in the claustrum of the monkey during performance of multiple movements

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 2115-2119 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Shima ◽  
E. Hoshi ◽  
J. Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Motor Execution ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Histological Confirmation ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
The Way

1. We studied neuronal activity in the claustrum of monkeys during performance of three different arm movements. We verified recording sites of claustral neurons by histological confirmation of microlesions. For the sake of comparison, we also recorded from the arm area of the precentral motor cortex (MI). Selection of the movements was either visually guided or determined by memorized information. 2. A striking property of claustral neurons is their nonselective relation to the three movements (push, pull, and turn a manipulandum). A vast majority (70%) of movement-related neurons exhibited increase of discharge in relation to all three movements, whereas only 16% were active in relation to one of the three movements. By contrast, about one-half of neurons in the MI were active in relation to a single movement. In both areas, the movement-related activity was similar regardless of whether the movements were selected by visual signals or by memory. 3. The study is the first to reveal involvement of claustral neurons in motor execution, and their activity property suggests that the way they are involved is different from that of MI neurons.

Command of visually guided 3D arm movements by the cerebral cortex

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Burnod ◽  
P. Grandguillaume ◽  
I. Otto ◽  
R. Caminiti ◽  
P. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Visually Guided

scholarly journals Target Selection for Reaching and Saccades Share a Similar Behavioral Reference Frame in the Macaque

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 1456-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansjörg Scherberger ◽  
Melvyn A. Goodale ◽  
Richard A. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Saccade Target ◽  
Internal Variables ◽  
Coordinate Frame ◽  
Selection For

The selection of one of two visual stimuli as a target for a motor action may depend on external as well as internal variables. We examined whether the preference to select a leftward or rightward target depends on the action that is performed (eye or arm movement) and to what extent the choice is influenced by the target location. Two targets were presented at the same distance to the left and right of a fixation position and the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was adjusted until both targets were selected equally often. This balanced SOA time is then a quantitative measure of selection preference. In two macaque monkeys tested, we found the balanced SOA shifted to the left side for left-arm movements and to the right side for right-arm movements. Target selection strongly depended on the horizontal target location. By varying eye, head, and trunk position, we found this dependency embedded in a head-centered behavioral reference frame for saccade targets and, somewhat counter-intuitively, for reach targets as well. Target selection for reach movements was influenced by the eye position, while saccade target selection was unaffected by the arm position. These findings suggest that the neural processes underlying target selection for a reaching movement are to a large extent independent of the coordinate frame ultimately used to make the limb movement, but are instead closely linked to the coordinate frame used to plan a saccade to that target. This similarity may be indicative of a common spatial framework for hand-eye coordination.

Neurons in the Primate Superior Colliculus Coding for Arm Movements in Gaze-Related Coordinates

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 1283-1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veit Stuphorn ◽  
Erhard Bauswein ◽  
Klaus-Peter Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Reference Frame ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Target Position ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Mesencephalic Reticular Formation ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Motor Error ◽  
Deep Layers

In the intermediate and deep layers of the superior colliculus (SC), a well-established oculomotor structure, a substantial population of cells is involved in the control of arm movements. To examine the reference frame of these neurons, we recorded in two rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta) the discharges of 331 neurons in the SC and the underlying mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) while monkeys reached to the same target location during different gaze orientations. For 65 reach-related cells with sufficient data and for simultaneously recorded electromyograms (EMGs) of 11 arm muscles, we calculated an ANOVA (factors: target position, gaze angle) and a gaze-dependency (GD) index. EMGs and the activity of many (60%) of the reach-related neurons were not influenced by the target representation on the retina or eye position. We refer to these as “gaze-independent” reach neurons. For 40%, however, the GD fell outside the range of the muscle modulation, and the ANOVA showed a significant influence of gaze. These “gaze-related” reach neurons discharge only when the monkey reaches for targets having specific coordinates in relation to the gaze axis, i.e., for targets in a gaze-related “reach movement field” (RMF). Neuronal activity was not modulated by the specific path of the arm movement, the muscle pattern that is necessary for its realization or the arm that was used for the reach. In each SC we found gaze-related neurons with RMFs both in the contralateral and in the ipsilateral hemifield. The topographical organization of the gaze-related reach neurons in the SC could not be matched with the well-known visual and oculomotor maps. Gaze-related neurons were more modulated in their strength of activity with different directions of arm movements than were gaze-independent reach neurons. Gaze-related reach neurons were recorded at a median depth of 2.03 mm below SC surface in the intermediate layers, where they overlap with saccade-related burst neurons (median depth: 1.55 mm). Most of the gaze-independent reach cells were found in a median depth of 4.01 mm below the SC surface in the deep layers and in the underlying MRF. The gaze-related reach neurons operating in a gaze-centered coordinate system could signal either the desired target position with respect to gaze direction or the motor error between gaze axis and reach target. The gaze-independent reach neurons, possibly operating in a shoulder- or arm-centered reference frame, might carry signals closer to motor output. Together these two types of reach neurons add evidence to our hypothesis that the SC is involved in the sensorimotor transformation for eye-hand coordination in primates.

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