scholarly journals Premotor cortex implements causal inference in multisensory own-body perception

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (40) ◽  
pp. 19771-19773 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Henrik Ehrsson ◽  
Marie Chancel
Keyword(s):  
Causal Inference ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Body Perception

scholarly journals Neural dynamics of causal inference in the macaque frontoparietal circuit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyao Qi ◽  
Wen Fang ◽  
Shenghao Li ◽  
Junru Li ◽  
Liping Wang
Keyword(s):  
Causal Inference ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Causal Structure ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Sensory Representation ◽  
Historical Information ◽  
Sensory Inputs

ABSTRACTNatural perception relies inherently on inferring causal structure in the environment. However, the neural mechanisms and functional circuits that are essential for representing and updating the hidden causal structure and corresponding sensory representations during multisensory processing are unknown. To address this, monkeys were trained to infer the probability of a potential common source from visual and proprioceptive signals on the basis of their spatial disparity in a virtual reality system. The proprioceptive drift reported by monkeys demonstrated that they combined historical information and current multisensory signals to estimate the hidden common source and subsequently updated both the causal structure and sensory representation. Single-unit recordings in premotor and parietal cortices revealed that neural activity in premotor cortex represents the core computation of causal inference, characterizing the estimation and update of the likelihood of integrating multiple sensory inputs at a trial-by-trial level. In response to signals from premotor cortex, neural activity in parietal cortex also represents the causal structure and further dynamically updates the sensory representation to maintain consistency with the causal inference structure. Thus, our results indicate how premotor cortex integrates historical information and sensory inputs to infer hidden variables and selectively updates sensory representations in parietal cortex to support behavior. This dynamic loop of frontal-parietal interactions in the causal inference framework may provide the neural mechanism to answer long-standing questions regarding how neural circuits represent hidden structures for body-awareness and agency.

Beyond metaphors and semantics: A framework for causal inference in neuroscience

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto A. Gulli
Keyword(s):  
Causal Inference ◽  
Causal Power

Abstract The long-enduring coding metaphor is deemed problematic because it imbues correlational evidence with causal power. In neuroscience, most research is correlational or conditionally correlational; this research, in aggregate, informs causal inference. Rather than prescribing semantics used in correlational studies, it would be useful for neuroscientists to focus on a constructive syntax to guide principled causal inference.

Action prediction and the premotor cortex

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waltraud Stadler ◽  
Ricarda I. Schubotz ◽  
Anne Springer ◽  
Wolfgang Prinz
Keyword(s):  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Action Prediction

A Causal Inference Explanation for Multisensory Speech Perception

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Magnotti ◽  
Wei Ji Ma ◽  
Michael S. Beauchamp
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Causal Inference

Causal Inference and Assessing Learning Outcomes Across Multiple Methods: A Primer for International Evaluators in Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-234
Author(s):  
John H. Hitchcock ◽  
◽  
Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie ◽  
Shannon David ◽  
Anne-Maree Ruddy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causal Inference ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Multiple Methods

The frontal longitudinal system as revealed through the fiber microdissection technique: structural evidence underpinning the direct connectivity of the prefrontal-premotor circuitry

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 1503-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyridon Komaitis ◽  
Aristotelis V. Kalyvas ◽  
Georgios P. Skandalakis ◽  
Evangelos Drosos ◽  
Evgenia Lani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Frontal Area ◽  
Frontal Pole ◽  
Fiber System ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Anterior Extension ◽  
Brodmann Areas ◽  
Longitudinal Fiber ◽  
Long Fibers

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to investigate the morphology, connectivity, and correlative anatomy of the longitudinal group of fibers residing in the frontal area, which resemble the anterior extension of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and were previously described as the frontal longitudinal system (FLS).METHODSFifteen normal adult formalin-fixed cerebral hemispheres collected from cadavers were studied using the Klingler microdissection technique. Lateral to medial dissections were performed in a stepwise fashion starting from the frontal area and extending to the temporoparietal regions.RESULTSThe FLS was consistently identified as a fiber pathway residing just under the superficial U-fibers of the middle frontal gyrus or middle frontal sulcus (when present) and extending as far as the frontal pole. The authors were able to record two different configurations: one consisting of two distinct, parallel, longitudinal fiber chains (13% of cases), and the other consisting of a single stem of fibers (87% of cases). The fiber chains’ cortical terminations in the frontal and prefrontal area were also traced. More specifically, the FLS was always recorded to terminate in Brodmann areas 6, 46, 45, and 10 (premotor cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, pars triangularis, and frontal pole, respectively), whereas terminations in Brodmann areas 4 (primary motor cortex), 47 (pars orbitalis), and 9 were also encountered in some specimens. In relation to the SLF system, the FLS represented its anterior continuation in the majority of the hemispheres, whereas in a few cases it was recorded as a completely distinct tract. Interestingly, the FLS comprised shorter fibers that were recorded to interconnect exclusively frontal areas, thus exhibiting different fiber architecture when compared to the long fibers forming the SLF.CONCLUSIONSThe current study provides consistent, focused, and robust evidence on the morphology, architecture, and correlative anatomy of the FLS. This fiber system participates in the axonal connectivity of the prefrontal-premotor cortices and allegedly subserves cognitive-motor functions. Based in the SLF hypersegmentation concept that has been advocated by previous authors, the FLS should be approached as a distinct frontal segment within the superior longitudinal system.

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