scholarly journals Vision for action: thalamic and cortical inputs to the macaque superior parietal lobule

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Gamberini ◽  
Lauretta Passarelli ◽  
Matteo Filippini ◽  
Patrizia Fattori ◽  
Claudio Galletti
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Reach To Grasp ◽  
Visual Stream ◽  
Somatosensory Information ◽  
Vision For Action ◽  
Parietal Lobule

AbstractThe dorsal visual stream, the cortical circuit that in the primate brain is mainly dedicated to the visual control of actions, is split into two routes, a lateral and a medial one, both involved in coding different aspects of sensorimotor control of actions. The lateral route, named “lateral grasping network”, is mainly involved in the control of the distal part of prehension, namely grasping and manipulation. The medial route, named “reach-to-grasp network”, is involved in the control of the full deployment of prehension act, from the direction of arm movement to the shaping of the hand according to the object to be grasped. In macaque monkeys, the reach-to-grasp network (the target of this review) includes areas of the superior parietal lobule (SPL) that hosts visual and somatosensory neurons well suited to control goal-directed limb movements toward stationary as well as moving objects. After a brief summary of the neuronal functional properties of these areas, we will analyze their cortical and thalamic inputs thanks to retrograde neuronal tracers separately injected into the SPL areas V6, V6A, PEc, and PE. These areas receive visual and somatosensory information distributed in a caudorostral, visuosomatic trend, and some of them are directly connected with the dorsal premotor cortex. This review is particularly focused on the origin and type of visual information reaching the SPL, and on the functional role this information can play in guiding limb interaction with objects in structured and dynamic environments.

scholarly journals Overlapping representations for reach depth and direction in caudal superior parietal lobule of macaques

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 2340-2352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostas Hadjidimitrakis ◽  
Giulia Dal Bo' ◽  
Rossella Breveglieri ◽  
Claudio Galletti ◽  
Patrizia Fattori
Keyword(s):  
Arm Movement ◽  
Peripersonal Space ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
3D Space ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Initial Fixation ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Parietal Lobule ◽  
Direction Information

Reaching movements in the real world have typically a direction and a depth component. Despite numerous behavioral studies, there is no consensus on whether reach coordinates are processed in separate or common visuomotor channels. Furthermore, the neural substrates of reach depth in parietal cortex have been ignored in most neurophysiological studies. In the medial posterior parietal area V6A, we recently demonstrated the strong presence of depth signals and the extensive convergence of depth and direction information on single neurons during all phases of a fixate-to-reach task in 3-dimensional (3D) space. Using the same task, in the present work we examined the processing of direction and depth information in area PEc of the caudal superior parietal lobule (SPL) in three Macaca fascicularis monkeys. Across the task, depth and direction had a similar, high incidence of modulatory effect. The effect of direction was stronger than depth during the initial fixation period. As the task progressed toward arm movement execution, depth tuning became more prominent than directional tuning and the number of cells modulated by both depth and direction increased significantly. Neurons tuned by depth showed a small bias for far peripersonal space. Cells with directional modulations were more frequently tuned toward contralateral spatial locations, but ipsilateral space was also represented. These findings, combined with results from neighboring areas V6A and PE, support a rostral-to-caudal gradient of overlapping representations for reach depth and direction in SPL. These findings also support a progressive change from visuospatial (vergence angle) to somatomotor representations of 3D space in SPL.

Simultaneous Recording of Macaque Premotor and Primary Motor Cortex Neuronal Populations Reveals Different Functional Contributions to Visuomotor Grasp

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 488-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Umilta ◽  
T. Brochier ◽  
R. L. Spinks ◽  
R. N. Lemon
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Simultaneous Recording ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Reach To Grasp ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Different Types

To understand the relative contributions of primary motor cortex (M1) and area F5 of the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) to visually guided grasp, we made simultaneous multiple electrode recordings from the hand representations of these two areas in two adult macaque monkeys. The monkeys were trained to fixate, reach out and grasp one of six objects presented in a pseudorandom order. In M1 326 task-related neurons, 104 of which were identified as pyramidal tract neurons, and 138 F5 neurons were analyzed as separate populations. All three populations showed activity that distinguished the six objects grasped by the monkey. These three populations responded in a manner that generalized across different sets of objects. F5 neurons showed object/grasp related tuning earlier than M1 neurons in the visual presentation and premovement periods. Also F5 neurons generally showed a greater preference for particular objects/grasps than did M1 neurons. F5 neurons remained tuned to a particular grasp throughout both the premovement and reach-to-grasp phases of the task, whereas M1 neurons showed different selectivity during the different phases. We also found that different types of grasp appear to be represented by different overall levels of activity within the F5-M1 circuit. Altogether these properties are consistent with the notion that F5 grasping-related neurons play a role in translating visual information about the physical properties of an object into the motor commands that are appropriate for grasping, and which are elaborated within M1 for delivery to the appropriate spinal machinery controlling hand and digit muscles.

Arm Movement-related Neurons in the Visual Area V6A of the Macaque Superior Parietal Lobule

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Galletti ◽  
P. Fattori ◽  
D. F. Kutz ◽  
P. P. Battaglini
Keyword(s):  
Arm Movement ◽  
Visual Area ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Parietal Lobule

scholarly journals Distinct representations of planned reach trajectories in human premotor and posterior parietal cortex

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Pilacinski ◽  
Axel Lindner
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Movement Planning ◽  
Delayed Response ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Dorsal Premotor Cortex ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Parietal Lobule ◽  
Reach Planning

ABSTRACTGoal-directed movements of the hand are often directed straight at the target, e.g. when swatting a fly; but when drawing or avoiding obstacles, hand trajectories can also become quite complex. Studies on movement planning have largely neglected the latter case and the question of whether the same neural machinery is planning straight, saccade-like vs. complex hand trajectories. Using time-resolved fMRI during delayed response tasks we examined planning activity in human superior parietal lobule (SPL) and dorsal premotor cortex (PMd). We show that the recruitment of both areas in trajectory planning differs significantly: PMd represented both straight and complex hand trajectories while SPL only those that led straight to the target. This implies that complex and computationally demanding reach planning is governed by a frontal pathway while a parietal route could warrant an alternative and faster way to put simple plans into action.

scholarly journals The role of the superior parietal lobule in lexical processing of sign language: Insights from fMRI and TMS

Cortex ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 240-254
Author(s):  
A. Banaszkiewicz ◽  
Ł. Bola ◽  
J. Matuszewski ◽  
M. Szczepanik ◽  
B. Kossowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Parietal Lobule

Mental maze solving: directional fMRI tuning and population coding in the superior parietal lobule

2005 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavlos Gourtzelidis ◽  
Charidimos Tzagarakis ◽  
Scott M. Lewis ◽  
David A. Crowe ◽  
Edward Auerbach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Coding ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Parietal Lobule

scholarly journals Intermittent Visuomotor Processing in the Human Cerebellum, Parietal Cortex, and Premotor Cortex

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 922-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Vaillancourt ◽  
Mary A. Mayka ◽  
Daniel M. Corcos
Keyword(s):  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Force Variability ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Control Force ◽  
Force Condition ◽  
Visuomotor Processing

The cerebellum, parietal cortex, and premotor cortex are integral to visuomotor processing. The parameters of visual information that modulate their role in visuomotor control are less clear. From motor psychophysics, the relation between the frequency of visual feedback and force variability has been identified as nonlinear. Thus we hypothesized that visual feedback frequency will differentially modulate the neural activation in the cerebellum, parietal cortex, and premotor cortex related to visuomotor processing. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla to examine visually guided grip force control under frequent and infrequent visual feedback conditions. Control conditions with intermittent visual feedback alone and a control force condition without visual feedback were examined. As expected, force variability was reduced in the frequent compared with the infrequent condition. Three novel findings were identified. First, infrequent (0.4 Hz) visual feedback did not result in visuomotor activation in lateral cerebellum (lobule VI/Crus I), whereas frequent (25 Hz) intermittent visual feedback did. This is in contrast to the anterior intermediate cerebellum (lobule V/VI), which was consistently active across all force conditions compared with rest. Second, confirming previous observations, the parietal and premotor cortices were active during grip force with frequent visual feedback. The novel finding was that the parietal and premotor cortex were also active during grip force with infrequent visual feedback. Third, right inferior parietal lobule, dorsal premotor cortex, and ventral premotor cortex had greater activation in the frequent compared with the infrequent grip force condition. These findings demonstrate that the frequency of visual information reduces motor error and differentially modulates the neural activation related to visuomotor processing in the cerebellum, parietal cortex, and premotor cortex.

scholarly journals Ultra-high field parallel imaging of the superior parietal lobule during mental maze solving

2008 ◽  
Vol 187 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trenton A. Jerde ◽  
Scott M. Lewis ◽  
Ute Goerke ◽  
Pavlos Gourtzelidis ◽  
Charidimos Tzagarakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Field ◽  
Parallel Imaging ◽  
Superior Parietal Lobule ◽  
Ultra High Field ◽  
Field Parallel ◽  
Parietal Lobule

scholarly journals Predictive coding of action intentions in dorsal and ventral visual stream is based on visual anticipations, memory-based information and motor preparation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Monaco ◽  
Giulia Malfatti ◽  
Alessandro Zendron ◽  
Elisa Pellencin ◽  
Luca Turella
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Neural Signals ◽  
Motor Representation ◽  
Visual Stream ◽  
Ventral Visual Stream ◽  
Action Intention

AbstractPredictions of upcoming movements are based on several types of neural signals that span the visual, somatosensory, motor and cognitive system. Thus far, pre-movement signals have been investigated while participants viewed the object to be acted upon. Here, we studied the contribution of information other than vision to the classification of preparatory signals for action, even in absence of online visual information. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) to test whether the neural signals evoked by visual, memory-based and somato-motor information can be reliably used to predict upcoming actions in areas of the dorsal and ventral visual stream during the preparatory phase preceding the action, while participants were lying still. Nineteen human participants (nine women) performed one of two actions towards an object with their eyes open or closed. Despite the well-known role of ventral stream areas in visual recognition tasks and the specialization of dorsal stream areas in somato-motor processes, we decoded action intention in areas of both streams based on visual, memory-based and somato-motor signals. Interestingly, we could reliably decode action intention in absence of visual information based on neural activity evoked when visual information was available, and vice-versa. Our results show a similar visual, memory and somato-motor representation of action planning in dorsal and ventral visual stream areas that allows predicting action intention across domains, regardless of the availability of visual information.

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