Exploring Cognition with Brain–Machine Interfaces

2022 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-158
Author(s):  
Richard A. Andersen ◽  
Tyson Aflalo ◽  
Luke Bashford ◽  
David Bjånes ◽  
Spencer Kellis
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Brain Machine Interfaces ◽  
Motor Commands ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Structured Representations ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Integration Planning ◽  
Motor Actions

Traditional brain–machine interfaces decode cortical motor commands to control external devices. These commands are the product of higher-level cognitive processes, occurring across a network of brain areas, that integrate sensory information, plan upcoming motor actions, and monitor ongoing movements. We review cognitive signals recently discovered in the human posterior parietal cortex during neuroprosthetic clinical trials. These signals are consistent with small regions of cortex having a diverse role in cognitive aspects of movement control and body monitoring, including sensorimotor integration, planning, trajectory representation, somatosensation, action semantics, learning, and decision making. These variables are encoded within the same population of cells using structured representations that bind related sensory and motor variables, an architecture termed partially mixed selectivity. Diverse cognitive signals provide complementary information to traditional motor commands to enable more natural and intuitive control of external devices.

scholarly journals Sequential sensory and decision processing in posterior parietal cortex

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilhem Ibos ◽  
David J Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Visual Features ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Cortex Area ◽  
Visual Matching ◽  
Posterior Parietal

Decisions about the behavioral significance of sensory stimuli often require comparing sensory inference of what we are looking at to internal models of what we are looking for. Here, we test how neuronal selectivity for visual features is transformed into decision-related signals in posterior parietal cortex (area LIP). Monkeys performed a visual matching task that required them to detect target stimuli composed of conjunctions of color and motion-direction. Neuronal recordings from area LIP revealed two main findings. First, the sequential processing of visual features and the selection of target-stimuli suggest that LIP is involved in transforming sensory information into decision-related signals. Second, the patterns of color and motion selectivity and their impact on decision-related encoding suggest that LIP plays a role in detecting target stimuli by comparing bottom-up sensory inputs (what the monkeys were looking at) and top-down cognitive encoding inputs (what the monkeys were looking for).

scholarly journals Neurorestoration: Advances in human brain–computer interface using microelectrode arrays

2020 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 32-39
Author(s):  
Jiawei Han
Keyword(s):  
Motor Function ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Microelectrode Arrays ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neural Damage ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Human Motor ◽  
Functional Replacement

Neural damage has been a great challenge to the medical field for a very long time. The emergence of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) offered a new possibility to enhance the activity of daily living and provide a new formation of entertainment for those with disabilities. Intracortical BCIs, which require the implantation of microelectrodes, can receive neuronal signals with a high spatial and temporal resolution from the individual’s cortex. When BCI decoded cortical signals and mapped them to external devices, it displayed the ability not only to replace part of the human motor function but also to help individuals restore certain neurological functions. In this review, we focus on human intracortical BCI research using microelectrode arrays and summarize the main directions and the latest results in this field. In general, we found that intracortical BCI research based on motor neuroprosthetics and functional electrical stimulation have already achieved some simple functional replacement and treatment of motor function. Pioneering work in the posterior parietal cortex has given us a glimpse of the potential that intracortical BCIs have to control external devices and receive various sensory information.

scholarly journals Timing-dependent modulation of the posterior parietal cortex–primary motor cortex pathway by sensorimotor training

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (11) ◽  
pp. 3190-3199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Karabanov ◽  
Seung-Hyun Jin ◽  
Atte Joutsen ◽  
Brach Poston ◽  
Joshua Aizen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Sensorimotor Training ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Posterior Parietal

Interplay between posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and ipsilateral primary motor cortex (M1) is crucial during execution of movements. The purpose of the study was to determine whether functional PPC–M1 connectivity in humans can be modulated by sensorimotor training. Seventeen participants performed a sensorimotor training task that involved tapping the index finger in synchrony to a rhythmic sequence. To explore differences in training modality, one group ( n = 8) learned by visual and the other ( n = 9) by auditory stimuli. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess PPC–M1 connectivity before and after training, whereas electroencephalography (EEG) was used to assess PPC–M1 connectivity during training. Facilitation from PPC to M1 was quantified using paired-pulse TMS at conditioning-test intervals of 2, 4, 6, and 8 ms by measuring motor-evoked potentials (MEPs). TMS was applied at baseline and at four time points (0, 30, 60, and 180 min) after training. For EEG, task-related power and coherence were calculated for early and late training phases. The conditioned MEP was facilitated at a 2-ms conditioning-test interval before training. However, facilitation was abolished immediately following training, but returned to baseline at subsequent time points. Regional EEG activity and interregional connectivity between PPC and M1 showed an initial increase during early training followed by a significant decrease in the late phases. The findings indicate that parietal–motor interactions are activated during early sensorimotor training when sensory information has to be integrated into a coherent movement plan. Once the sequence is encoded and movements become automatized, PPC–M1 connectivity returns to baseline.

scholarly journals Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald N. Pho ◽  
Michael J. Goard ◽  
Jonathan Woodson ◽  
Benjamin Crawford ◽  
Mriganka Sur
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Sensorimotor Transformation ◽  
Motor Commands ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Sensorimotor Contingency

AbstractThe posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated in perceptual decisions, but whether its role is specific to sensory processing or sensorimotor transformation is not well understood. To distinguish these possibilities, we trained mice of either sex to perform a visual discrimination task and imaged the activity of PPC populations during both engaged behavior and passive viewing. Unlike neurons in primary visual cortex (V1), which responded robustly to stimuli in both conditions, most neurons in PPC responded exclusively during task engagement. However, PPC responses were heterogeneous, with a smaller subset of neurons exhibiting stimulus-driven, contrast-dependent responses in both conditions. Neurons in PPC also exhibit stronger modulation by noise correlations relative to V1, as illustrated by a generalized linear model that takes into account both task variables and between-neuron correlations. To test whether PPC responses primarily encoded the stimulus or the learned sensorimotor contingency, we imaged the same neurons before and after re-training mice on a reversed task contingency. Unlike V1 neurons, most PPC neurons exhibited a dramatic shift in selectivity after re-training and reflected the new sensorimotor contingency, while a smaller subset of neurons preserved their stimulus selectivity. Mouse PPC is therefore strongly task-dependent, contains heterogeneous populations sensitive to stimulus and choice, and may play an important role in the flexible transformation of sensory inputs into motor commands.Significance StatementPerceptual decision making involves both processing of sensory information and mapping that information onto appropriate motor commands via learned sensorimotor associations. While visual cortex (V1) is known to be critical for sensory processing, it is unclear what circuits are involved in the process of sensorimotor transformation. While the mouse posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated in visual decisions, its specific role has been controversial. By imaging population activity while manipulating task engagement and sensorimotor contingencies, we demonstrate that PPC, unlike V1, is highly task-dependent, heterogeneous, and sensitive to the learned task demands. Our results suggest that PPC is more than a visual area, and may instead be involved in the flexible mapping of visual information onto appropriate motor actions.

The functional organization of posterior parietal association cortex

1980 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Oculomotor Control ◽  
Association Cortex ◽  
Parietal Association Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal

AbstractPosterior parietal cortex has traditionally been considered to be a sensory association area in which higher-order processing and intermodal integration of incoming sensory information occurs. In this paper, evidence from clinical reports and from lesion and behavioral-electrophysiological experiments using monkeys is reviewed and discussed in relation to the overall functional organization of posterior parietal association cortex, and particularly with respect to a proposed posterior parietal mechanism concerned with the initiation and control of certain classes of eye and limb movements. Preliminary data from studies of the effects of posterior parietal lesions on oculomotor control in monkeys are reported.The behavioral effects of lesions of posterior parietal cortex in monkeys have been found to be similar to those which follow analogous damage of the minor hemisphere in humans, while behavioral-electrophysiological experiments have disclosed classes of neurons in this area which have functional properties closely related to the behavioral acts that are disrupted by lesions of the area. On the basis of current data from these areas of study, it is proposed that the sensory association model of posterior parietal function is inadequate to account for the complexities of the present evidence. Instead, it now appears that many diverse neural mechanisms are locatedin partin parietal cortex, that some of these mechanisms are involved in sensory processing and perceptual functions, but that others participate in motor control, and that still others are involved in attentional, motivational, or emotional processes. It is further proposed that the elementary units of these various neural mechanisms are distributed within posterior parietal cortex according to the columnar hypothesis of Mountcastle.

Area Spt in the Human Planum Temporale Supports Sensory-Motor Integration for Speech Processing

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 2725-2732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Hickok ◽  
Kayoko Okada ◽  
John T. Serences
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Planum Temporale ◽  
Limb Movements ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Moment Interaction ◽  
Sensory Motor ◽  
Posterior Parietal

Processing incoming sensory information and transforming this input into appropriate motor responses is a critical and ongoing aspect of our moment-to-moment interaction with the environment. While the neural mechanisms in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) that support the transformation of sensory inputs into simple eye or limb movements has received a great deal of empirical attention—in part because these processes are easy to study in nonhuman primates—little work has been done on sensory-motor transformations in the domain of speech. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate analysis techniques to demonstrate that a region of the planum temporale (Spt) shows distinct spatial activation patterns during sensory and motor aspects of a speech task. This result suggests that just as the PPC supports sensorimotor integration for eye and limb movements, area Spt forms part of a sensory-motor integration circuit for the vocal tract.

scholarly journals A study of parietal-motor connectivity by intraoperative dual cortical stimulation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Cattaneo ◽  
Davide Giampiccolo ◽  
Pietro Meneghelli ◽  
Vincenzo Tramontano ◽  
Francesco Sala
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Short Latency ◽  
Motor Output ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Sensorimotor Transformations ◽  
Posterior Parietal

Abstractthe function of the primate’s posterior parietal cortex in sensorimotor transformations is well-established, though in humans its complexity is still challenging. Well-established models indicate that the posterior parietal cortex influences motor output indirectly, by means of connections to the premotor cortex, which in turn is directly connected to the motor cortex. The possibility that the posterior parietal cortex could be at the origin of direct afferents to M1 has been suggested in humans but has never been confirmed directly. In the present work we assessed during intraoperative monitoring of the corticospinal tract in brain tumour patients the existence of short-latency effects of parietal stimulation on corticospinal excitability to the upper limb. We identified several foci within the inferior parietal lobule that drove short-latency influences on cortical motor output. Active foci were distributed along the postcentral gyrus and clustered around the anterior intraparietal area and around the parietal operculum. For the first time in humans, the present data show direct evidence in favour of a distributed system of connections from the posterior parietal cortex to the ipsilateral primary motor cortex.

scholarly journals Afferent connections of cytoarchitectural area 6M and surrounding cortex in the marmoset: putative homologues of the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Bakola ◽  
Kathleen J Burman ◽  
Sylwia Bednarek ◽  
Jonathan M Chan ◽  
Natalia Jermakov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Movement Planning ◽  
Posterior Cingulate ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Cingulate Motor Area ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
And Control ◽  
Premotor Areas ◽  
Motor Areas

Cortical projections to the caudomedial frontal cortex were studied using retrograde tracers in marmosets. We tested the hypothesis that cytoarchitectural area 6M includes homologues of the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas (SMA and preSMA) of other primates. We found that, irrespective of the injection sites' location within 6M, over half of the labeled neurons were located in motor and premotor areas. Other connections originated in prefrontal area 8b, ventral anterior and posterior cingulate areas, somatosensory areas (3a and 1-2), and areas on the rostral aspect of the dorsal posterior parietal cortex. Although the origin of afferents was similar, injections in rostral 6M received higher percentages of prefrontal afferents, and fewer somatosensory afferents, compared to caudal injections, compatible with differentiation into SMA and preSMA. Injections rostral to 6M (area 8b) revealed a very different set of connections, with increased emphasis in prefrontal and posterior cingulate afferents, and fewer parietal afferents. The connections of 6M were also quantitatively different from those of M1, dorsal premotor areas, and cingulate motor area 24d. These results show that the cortical motor control circuit is conserved in simian primates, indicating that marmosets can be valuable models for studying movement planning and control.

scholarly journals Parietal maps of visual signals for bodily action planning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy A. Orban ◽  
Alessia Sepe ◽  
Luca Bonini
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Social World ◽  
The Body ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Sensorimotor Processing ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
High Level ◽  
Motor Actions

AbstractThe posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has long been understood as a high-level integrative station for computing motor commands for the body based on sensory (i.e., mostly tactile and visual) input from the outside world. In the last decade, accumulating evidence has shown that the parietal areas not only extract the pragmatic features of manipulable objects, but also subserve sensorimotor processing of others’ actions. A paradigmatic case is that of the anterior intraparietal area (AIP), which encodes the identity of observed manipulative actions that afford potential motor actions the observer could perform in response to them. On these bases, we propose an AIP manipulative action-based template of the general planning functions of the PPC and review existing evidence supporting the extension of this model to other PPC regions and to a wider set of actions: defensive and locomotor actions. In our model, a hallmark of PPC functioning is the processing of information about the physical and social world to encode potential bodily actions appropriate for the current context. We further extend the model to actions performed with man-made objects (e.g., tools) and artifacts, because they become integral parts of the subject’s body schema and motor repertoire. Finally, we conclude that existing evidence supports a generally conserved neural circuitry that transforms integrated sensory signals into the variety of bodily actions that primates are capable of preparing and performing to interact with their physical and social world.

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