scholarly journals A distributed circuit for associating environmental context with motor choice in retrosplenial cortex

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (35) ◽  
pp. eabf9815
Author(s):  
Luis M. Franco ◽  
Michael J. Goard
Keyword(s):  
Motor Planning ◽  
Retrosplenial Cortex ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Motor Outputs ◽  
Cortical Circuit ◽  
Task Variables ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Temporal Profiles

During navigation, animals often use recognition of familiar environmental contexts to guide motor action selection. The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) receives inputs from both visual cortex and subcortical regions required for spatial memory and projects to motor planning regions. However, it is not known whether RSC is important for associating familiar environmental contexts with specific motor actions. We test this possibility by developing a task in which motor trajectories are chosen based on the context. We find that mice exhibit differential predecision activity in RSC and that optogenetic suppression of RSC activity impairs task performance. Individual RSC neurons encode a range of task variables, often multiplexed with distinct temporal profiles. However, the responses are spatiotemporally organized, with task variables represented along a posterior-to-anterior gradient along RSC during the behavioral performance, consistent with histological characterization. These results reveal an anatomically organized retrosplenial cortical circuit for associating environmental contexts with appropriate motor outputs.

scholarly journals A Distributed Circuit for Associating Environmental Context to Motor Choice in Retrosplenial Cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis M. Franco ◽  
Michael J. Goard
Keyword(s):  
Motor Planning ◽  
Retrosplenial Cortex ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Motor Outputs ◽  
Cortical Circuit ◽  
Task Variables ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Temporal Profiles

ABSTRACTDuring navigation, animals often use recognition of familiar environmental contexts to guide motor action selection. The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) receives inputs from both visual cortex and subcortical regions required for spatial memory, and projects to motor planning regions. However, it is not known whether RSC is important for associating familiar environmental contexts with specific motor actions. Here, we test this possibility by developing a task in which trajectories are chosen based on the context. We find that mice exhibit differential pre-decision activity in RSC, and that optogenetic suppression of RSC activity impairs task performance. Individual RSC neurons encode a range of task variables, often multiplexed with distinct temporal profiles. However, the responses are spatiotemporally organized, with task variables represented along a posterior-to-anterior gradient along RSC during the behavioral performance, consistent with histological characterization. These results reveal an anatomically-organized retrosplenial cortical circuit for associating environmental contexts to appropriate motor outputs.

scholarly journals Neurophysiological changes in the visuomotor network after practicing a motor task

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Gehringer ◽  
David J. Arpin ◽  
Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham ◽  
Tony W. Wilson ◽  
Max J. Kurz
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Force Output ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Visuomotor Transformations ◽  
Target Matching

Although it is well appreciated that practicing a motor task updates the associated internal model, it is still unknown how the cortical oscillations linked with the motor action change with practice. The present study investigates the short-term changes (e.g., fast motor learning) in the α- and β-event-related desynchronizations (ERD) associated with the production of a motor action. To this end, we used magnetoencephalography to identify changes in the α- and β-ERD in healthy adults after participants practiced a novel isometric ankle plantarflexion target-matching task. After practicing, the participants matched the targets faster and had improved accuracy, faster force production, and a reduced amount of variability in the force output when trying to match the target. Parallel with the behavioral results, the strength of the β-ERD across the motor-planning and execution stages was reduced after practice in the sensorimotor and occipital cortexes. No pre/postpractice changes were found in the α-ERD during motor planning or execution. Together, these outcomes suggest that fast motor learning is associated with a decrease in β-ERD power. The decreased strength likely reflects a more refined motor plan, a reduction in neural resources needed to perform the task, and/or an enhancement of the processes that are involved in the visuomotor transformations that occur before the onset of the motor action. These results may augment the development of neurologically based practice strategies and/or lead to new practice strategies that increase motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We aimed to determine the effects of practice on the movement-related cortical oscillatory activity. Following practice, we found that the performance of the ankle plantarflexion target-matching task improved and the power of the β-oscillations decreased in the sensorimotor and occipital cortexes. These novel findings capture the β-oscillatory activity changes in the sensorimotor and occipital cortexes that are coupled with behavioral changes to demonstrate the effects of motor learning.

Understanding design fluency: Motor and executive contributions

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
YANA SUCHY ◽  
MATTHEW L. KRAYBILL ◽  
JENNIFER C. GIDLEY LARSON
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Motor Speed ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Design Fluency ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Validation Research

AbstractDesign Fluency (DF) is typically assumed to assess planning, cognitive flexibility, and fluency in generation of visual patterns, above and beyond contributions from motor speed (Delis, Kaplan, & Kramer, 2001; Ruff, 1998). The present study examined these assumptions, as little construct validation research has been done in the past. Sixty one community-dwelling elderly participants were administered the DF, Trail Making, and Letter Fluency tests from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), as well as electronically administered measures of motor planning and motor sequence fluency. Hierarchical regressions were used to parse out unique variance contributions to DF performance. The results showed that generation of novel designs (i.e., the first two trials on the D-KEFS DF) relied primarily on motor planning, the ability to generate novel motor actions, and, to a lesser extent, speed of drawing with a writing implement. In contrast, generation of unique designs while switching (i.e., the third trial on the D-KEFS DF) relied primarily on visual scanning and perhaps visual-attentional resources. These findings highlight the wisdom of interpreting the switching trial of the D-KEFS DF separately. Interestingly, cognitive flexibility did not contribute to performance on any of the three D-KEFS DF trials. (JINS, 2010, 16, 26–37.)

scholarly journals Post-determined emotion: motor action retrospectively modulates emotional valence of visual images

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1805) ◽  
pp. 20140690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyoshiro Sasaki ◽  
Yuki Yamada ◽  
Kayo Miura
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Touch Screen ◽  
Lower Portion ◽  
Visual Images ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Motor Actions

Upward and downward motor actions influence subsequent and ongoing emotional processing in accordance with a space–valence metaphor: positive is up/negative is down. In this study, we examined whether upward and downward motor actions could also affect previous emotional processing. Participants were shown an emotional image on a touch screen. After the image disappeared, they were required to drag a centrally located dot towards a cued area, which was either in the upper or lower portion of the screen. They were then asked to rate the emotional valence of the image using a 7-point scale. We found that the emotional valence of the image was more positive when the cued area was located in the upper portion of the screen. However, this was the case only when the dragging action was required immediately after the image had disappeared. Our findings suggest that when somatic information that is metaphorically associated with an emotion is linked temporally with a visual event, retrospective emotional integration between the visual and somatic events occurs.

scholarly journals Motor Output Matters: Evidence of a Continuous Relationship Between Stop/No-go P300 Amplitude and Response Force on Failed Inhibitions at the Trial-Level

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
An T. Nguyen ◽  
Matthew A. Albrecht ◽  
Ottmar V. Lipp ◽  
Welber Marinovic
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Threshold Model ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Motor Output ◽  
P300 Amplitude ◽  
Response Force ◽  
Motor Outputs ◽  
Motor Actions

AbstractMotor actions can be suppressed with varying degrees of success, but this variability is not captured in many experiments where responses are represented in binary (response vs. no-response). Although the Stop/No-go P300 (an enhanced frontocentral positivity in the event-related potential (ERP) peaking around 300 ms after a Stop/No-go stimulus, compared to Go trials) has been implicated as a measure of inhibitory-control, it is unclear how the range of motor outputs relates to the P300. We examined the nature of this association in two experiments using an Anticipatory Timing and a Go/No-go Task. Force, response onset time, and the P300 were measured.In both experiments, our results showed that trial-by-trial P300 amplitude on Failed Inhibitions were continuously related to Force, where higher response forces (reflecting a greater degree of error) were associated with smaller P300 amplitudes. Compared to Successful Inhibitions, P300 amplitude was reduced and ERP onset latencies were delayed on Failed Inhibitions. Although the binary categorisation of inhibition-success (Successful vs. Failed) accounted for more variance in the data compared to force, it misses a reliable linear relationship that can be captured by continuous measures of motor output. Overall, the results provide strong evidence that the engagement of inhibitory-control varies on a continuum from trial-to-trial and that this engagement is reflected by the P300. We present an activation-to-threshold model of inhibitory-control to explain our results, which offers a new conceptual framework for describing the implementation of inhibitory-control in highly prepared motor responses. Our results also highlight the importance of studying the spectrum of motor outputs and the need for future models of inhibitory-control to account for motor output.

scholarly journals Reward modulates cortical representations of action

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. Adkins ◽  
Taraz G. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
List Type ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Sequence Production ◽  
On Line ◽  
Elevated Activity ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Human Participants

AbstractPeople are capable of rapid on-line improvements in performance when they are offered a reward. The neural mechanism by which this performance enhancement occurs remains unclear. We investigated this phenomenon by offering monetary reward to human participants, contingent on successful performance in a sequence production task. We found that people performed actions more quickly and accurately when they were offered large rewards. Increasing reward magnitude was associated with elevated activity throughout the brain prior to movement. Multivariate patterns of activity in these reward-responsive regions encoded information about the upcoming action. Follow-up analyses provided evidence that action decoding in pre-SMA and other motor planning areas was improved for large reward trials and successful action decoding was associated with improved performance. These results suggest that reward may enhance performance by enhancing neural representations of action used in motor planning.HighlightsReward enhances behavioral performance.Reward enhances action decoding in motor planning areas prior to movement.Enhanced action decoding coincides with improved behavioral performance.

scholarly journals Forestilling og handling

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilkka Pyysiäinen
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Mirror Neurons ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Similar Action ◽  
Motor Actions

In this paper I outline the hypothesis that counterintuitive religious beliefs partly acquire their plausibility for the believer from the fact that they guide motor action in rituals. The hypothesis is based on connecting theories of a ‘theory of mind’ with findings about the so-called ‘mirror neurons’ that are activated in certain kinds of motor actions as well as in watching and imitating other people’s similar action.

scholarly journals Premovement inhibition protects motor actions from interference

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron N. McInnes ◽  
Ottmar V. Lipp ◽  
James R. Tresilian ◽  
Ann-Maree Vallence ◽  
Welber Marinovic
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Stimulus ◽  
Sensory Stimulation ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Movement Initiation ◽  
External Interference ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Foreperiod Duration ◽  
Timing Task ◽  
Motor Actions

AbstractShortly before movement initiation, the corticospinal system undergoes a transient suppression. This phenomenon has been observed across a range of motor tasks, suggesting that it may be a obligatory component of movement preparation. We probed whether this was also the case when the urgency to perform a motor action was high, in a situation where little time was available to engage in preparatory processes. We controlled the urgency of an impending motor action by increasing or decreasing the foreperiod duration in an anticipatory timing task. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS; experiment one) or a loud acoustic stimulus (LAS; experiment two) were used to examine how corticospinal and subcortical excitability were modulated during motor preparation. Preparatory inhibition of the corticospinal tract was absent when movement urgency was high, though motor actions were initiated on time. In contrast, subcortical circuits were progressively inhibited as the time to prepare increased. Interestingly, movement force and vigour were reduced by both TMS and the LAS when movement urgency was high, and enhanced when movement urgency was low. Our findings indicate that preparatory inhibition may not be a obligatory component of motor preparation. The behavioural effects we observed in the absence of preparatory inhibition were induced by both TMS and the LAS, suggesting that accessory sensory stimulation may disrupt motor output when such stimulation is presented in the absence of preparatory inhibition. We conclude that preparatory inhibition may be an adaptive strategy which can serve to protect the prepared motor action from external interference.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the kinematic structure of indicators key elements of sports equipment exercise by postural orientation movements

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Y.V. Litvinenko ◽  
Tomasz Niznikowski ◽  
V.N. Boloban
Keyword(s):  
Central Element ◽  
The Body ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis ◽  
Kinematic Structure ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Postural Orientation ◽  
Preparatory Phase ◽  
Motor Actions

Purpose : Examine the kinematic structure of indicators key elements of sports equipment exercise (difficult to coordinate). The method of postural orientation movements. Material : The study involved acrobats jumpers on the path of high qualification (n = 7). The method used video - computer recording the movements of the athlete. Results : Identified nodal elements of sports equipment double back somersault tuck. Exercise performed after rondat and double back flip and stretch after rondat - flick (coup ago). In the preparatory phase of motor actions acrobatic exercises isolated and studied central element of sports equipment - starting posture of the body; in the phase of the main motor action - animation poses of the body; in the final phase - the final body posture (stable landing). Conclusions : The method of video - computer registration allowed to perform a biomechanical analysis and evaluation of key elements of sports equipment double back somersault tuck and a double back flip and stretch. Also gain new knowledge about the mechanism of the phase structure of movements when performing double somersaults.

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