Functional Properties of Grasping-Related Neurons in the Dorsal Premotor Area F2 of the Macaque Monkey

We investigated the properties of neurons located in the distal forelimb field of dorsal premotor area F2 of macaque monkey using a behavioral paradigm for studying the neuronal discharge during observation (object fixation condition) and grasping of different 3-dimensional objects with and without visual guidance of the movement (movement in light and movement in dark conditions, respectively). The main result is that almost all studied neurons were selective for both the type of prehension and the wrist orientation required for grasping an object. Three categories of neurons were found: purely motor, visually modulated, and visuomotor neurons. The discharge of purely motor neurons was not affected by either object presentation or by the visual feedback of the hand approaching to and interacting with the object. Visually modulated neurons presented a different discharge in the 2 movement conditions, this determining a decrease in selectivity for the grip and wrist orientation in the movement in dark condition. Visuomotor neurons typically discharged during the object fixation task even in the absence of any grasping movement. Nine of them also displayed a different discharge rate between the 2 movement conditions. Congruence was observed between the neuron response during the most effective type of prehension and the neuron response during observation of the object requiring that particular prehension. These results indicate an important role of F2 in the control of goal-related hand movements.

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Object Representation in the Ventral Premotor Cortex (Area F5) of the Monkey

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1997.78.4.2226 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 78 (4) ◽

pp. 2226-2230 ◽

Cited By ~ 444

Author(s):

Akira Murata ◽

Luciano Fadiga ◽

Leonardo Fogassi ◽

Vittorio Gallese ◽

Vassilis Raos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Neurons ◽

Object Representation ◽

Premotor Cortex ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽

Cortex Area ◽

Behavioral Paradigm ◽

Geometric Solids ◽

Object Coding ◽

Object Fixation

Murata, Akira, Luciano Fadiga, Leonardo Fogassi, Vittorio Gallese, Vassilis Raos, and Giacomo Rizzolatti. Object representation in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) of the monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2226–2230, 1997. Visual and motor properties of single neurons of monkey ventral premotor cortex (area F5) were studied in a behavioral paradigm consisting of four conditions: object grasping in light, object grasping in dark, object fixation, and fixation of a spot of light. The employed objects were six different three-dimensional (3-D) geometric solids. Two main types of neurons were distinguished: motor neurons ( n = 25) and visuomotor neurons ( n = 24). Motor neurons discharged in association with grasping movements. Most of them ( n = 17) discharged selectively during a particular type of grip. Different objects, if grasped in similar way, determined similar neuronal motor responses. Visuomotor neurons also discharged during active movements, but, in addition, they fired also in response to the presentation of 3-D objects. The majority of visuomotor neurons ( n = 16) showed selectivity for one or few objects. The response was present both in object grasping in light and in object fixation conditions. Visuomotor neurons that selectively discharged to the presentation of a given object discharged also selectively during grasping of that object. In conclusion, object shape is coded in F5 even when a response to that object is not required. The possible visual or motor nature of this object coding is discussed.

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Functional Properties of Grasping-Related Neurons in the Ventral Premotor Area F5 of the Macaque Monkey

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00463.2005 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 95 (2) ◽

pp. 709-729 ◽

Cited By ~ 196

Author(s):

Vassilis Raos ◽

Maria-Alessandra Umiltá ◽

Akira Murata ◽

Leonardo Fogassi ◽

Vittorio Gallese

Keyword(s):

Functional Properties ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Visual Presentation ◽

Macaque Monkey ◽

Premotor Area ◽

Three Dimensional Objects ◽

Optimal Activity ◽

Visual Properties ◽

First Time

We investigated the motor and visual properties of F5 grasping neurons, using a controlled paradigm that allows the study of the neuronal discharge during both observation and grasping of many different three-dimensional objects with and without visual guidance. All neurons displayed a preference for grasping of an object or a set of objects. The same preference was maintained when grasping was performed in the dark without visual feedback. In addition to the motor-related discharge, about half of the neurons also responded to the presentation of an object or a set of objects, even when a grasping movement was not required. Often the object evoking the strongest activity during grasping also evoked optimal activity during its visual presentation. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that the selectivity of both the motor and the visual discharge of the F5 neurons is determined not by the object shape but by the grip posture used to grasp the object. Because the same paradigm has been used to study the properties of hand-grasping neurons in the dorsal premotor area F2, and in the anterior intraparietal area (AIP), a comparison of the functional properties of grasping-related neurons in the three cortical areas (F5, F2, AIP) is addressed for the first time.

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SPP1 expression in spinal motor neurons of the macaque monkey

Neuroscience Research ◽

10.1016/j.neures.2010.09.010 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 69 (1) ◽

pp. 81-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tatsuya Yamamoto ◽

Noriyuki Higo ◽

Akira Sato ◽

Yukio Nishimura ◽

Takao Oishi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Neurons ◽

Macaque Monkey ◽

Spinal Motor Neurons ◽

Spinal Motor

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Decoding the activity of grasping neurons recorded from the ventral premotor area F5 of the macaque monkey

Neuroscience ◽

10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.04.062 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 188 ◽

pp. 80-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

J. Carpaneto ◽

M.A. Umiltà ◽

L. Fogassi ◽

A. Murata ◽

V. Gallese ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Macaque Monkey ◽

Premotor Area

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Localization of Adductor and Abductor Motor Nerve Fibers to the Larynx

Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology ◽

10.1177/000348947708600610 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 86 (6) ◽

pp. 770-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Richard R. Gacek ◽

Leslie T. Malmgren ◽

Michael J. Lyon

Keyword(s):

Vagus Nerve ◽

Motor Neurons ◽

Motor Nerve ◽

Functional Results ◽

Nerve Fibers ◽

Nucleus Ambiguus ◽

Axoplasmic Flow ◽

Anterograde Degeneration ◽

Almost All ◽

The Brain

Knowledge of the location of motor nerve fibers to the adductor and abductor muscles of the larynx may be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of innervation disorders in this organ. Anterograde degeneration and retrograde tracer anatomical techniques have demonstrated the central and peripheral positions of these two groups of motor nerve fibers in the cat. Traditional nerve fiber degeneration methods applied following intracranial transection of the vagus nerve rootlets indicated that: 1) Most of the fibers in the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) are motor; 2) Almost all of these motor fibers leave the brain stem in the most rostral rootlet(s) of the vagus nerve; and 3) Motor fibers to the larynx form a discrete bundle within the trunk of the vagus nerve before forming the RLN. A tracer (horseradish peroxidase) of retrograde axoplasmic flow in motor neurons has been employed to demonstrate: 1) Dorsoventral division of the adductor and abductor neurons in the nucleus ambiguus; and 2) Diffuse arrangement of both adductor and abductor nerve fibers in the vagus nerve but collection of these fibers into abductor and adductor halves of the RLN prior to entering the larynx. These findings dispel theories of differential cord paralysis (Semon's law) based on a vulnerable position of abductor fibers at the periphery of the RLN. Furthermore, the diffuse arrangement of these fiber groups explains the usually mixed functional results obtained following reimplantation of the RLN into a laryngeal muscle.

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Discharge Variability of Motor Units in an Intrinsic Muscle of Transplanted Hand

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.01273.2007 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 99 (5) ◽

pp. 2232-2240 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Dario Farina ◽

Marco Pozzo ◽

Marco Lanzetta ◽

Roger M. Enoka

Keyword(s):

Motor Neurons ◽

Action Potentials ◽

Discharge Rate ◽

Motor Units ◽

Surface Emg ◽

Intrinsic Muscle ◽

Single Motor Units ◽

Abductor Digiti Minimi ◽

The Individual ◽

Ramp Contractions

The study analyzed the discharge characteristics of the motor units in an intrinsic muscle of a transplanted hand. Multichannel electromyographic (EMG) recordings were obtained in 11 experimental sessions over 16 mo starting from day 205 after a hand was transplanted in a 35-yr-old man who had lost his right hand 22 yr earlier. The action potentials discharged by single motor units were identified from the surface EMG signals of the abductor digiti minimi muscle in the transplanted hand as the individual performed 60-s maximal and linearly increasing (ramp) contractions. Discharge rate decreased from 27.1 ± 8.4 pulses per second (pps) at the start of the maximal contractions to 17.2 ± 2.9 pps at the end ( P < 0.001) and increased from 17.4 ± 4.3 to 22.1 ± 5.0 pps during the ramp contractions ( P < 0.05). The SD of the interspike interval (ISI) nearly related to the mean ISI with a similar regression slope for the maximal (0.49 ± 0.09) and ramp contractions (0.43 ± 0.10). The coefficient of variation for ISI was higher than values in able-bodied persons and did not change during either the maximal (36.8 ± 10.8%) or the ramp contractions (35.9 ± 7.4%). High-frequency bursts of activity with <20 ms between two and six action potentials occurred during both maximal and ramp contractions. In conclusion, motor neurons that reinnervated a muscle in a transplanted hand discharged action potentials with a high degree of variability that suggested greater synaptic noise during the voluntary contractions.

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DeepInterface: Protein-protein interface validation using 3D Convolutional Neural Networks

10.1101/617506 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A.T. Balci ◽

C. Gumeli ◽

A. Hakouz ◽

D. Yuret ◽

O. Keskin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Networks ◽

Convolutional Neural Networks ◽

Protein Interactions ◽

Data Bank ◽

Validation Dataset ◽

Data Sets ◽

Protein Protein Interactions ◽

3 Dimensional ◽

Almost All ◽

The Given

AbstractMotivationProtein–protein interactions are crucial in almost all biological processes. Proteins interact through their interfaces. It is important to determine how proteins interact through interfaces to understand protein binding mechanisms and to predict new protein-protein interactions.ResultsWe present DeepInterface, a deep learning based method which predicts, for a given protein complex, if the interface between the proteins of a complex is a true interface or not. The model is a 3-dimensional convolutional neural networks model and the positive datasets are obtained from all complexes in the Protein Data Bank, the negative datasets are the incorrect solutions of the docking decoys. The model analyzes a given interface structure and outputs the probability of the given structure being an interface. The accuracy of the model for several interface data sets, including PIFACE, PPI4DOCK, DOCKGROUND is approximately 88% in the validation dataset and 75% in the test dataset. The method can be used to improve the accuracy of template based PPI predictions.

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Computational 3D histological phenotyping of whole zebrafish by X-ray histotomography

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.44898 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Yifu Ding ◽

Daniel J Vanselow ◽

Maksim A Yakovlev ◽

Spencer R Katz ◽

Alex Y Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Neurons ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Multiple Organ ◽

Micro Ct ◽

Brain Nuclei ◽

X Ray ◽

3 Dimensional ◽

Organ Systems ◽

Cell Shapes ◽

Small Vertebrate

Organismal phenotypes frequently involve multiple organ systems. Histology is a powerful way to detect cellular and tissue phenotypes, but is largely descriptive and subjective. To determine how synchrotron-based X-ray micro-tomography (micro-CT) can yield 3-dimensional whole-organism images suitable for quantitative histological phenotyping, we scanned whole zebrafish, a small vertebrate model with diverse tissues, at ~1 micron voxel resolutions. Micro-CT optimized for cellular characterization (histotomography) allows brain nuclei to be computationally segmented and assigned to brain regions, and cell shapes and volumes to be computed for motor neurons and red blood cells. Striking individual phenotypic variation was apparent from color maps of computed densities of brain nuclei. Unlike histology, the histotomography also allows the study of 3-dimensional structures of millimeter scale that cross multiple tissue planes. We expect the computational and visual insights into 3D cell and tissue architecture provided by histotomography to be useful for reference atlases, hypothesis generation, comprehensive organismal screens, and diagnostics.

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Effects of Stimulus Azimuth and Intensity on the Single-Neuron Activity in the Auditory Cortex of the Alert Macaque Monkey

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00392.2006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 96 (6) ◽

pp. 3323-3337 ◽

Cited By ~ 101

Author(s):

Timothy M. Woods ◽

Steve E. Lopez ◽

James H. Long ◽

Joanne E. Rahman ◽

Gregg H. Recanzone

Keyword(s):

Auditory Cortex ◽

Spatial Information ◽

Macaque Monkey ◽

Broadband Noise ◽

Neuron Activity ◽

Eye Position ◽

Spatial Features ◽

Spatial Tuning ◽

Core Areas ◽

Almost All

It has been hypothesized that the primate auditory cortex is composed of at least two processing streams, one of which is believed to selectively process spatial information. To test whether spatial information is differentially encoded in different auditory cortical fields, we recorded the responses of single neurons in the auditory cortex of alert macaque monkeys to broadband noise stimuli presented from 360° in azimuth at four different absolute intensities. Cortical areas tested were core areas A1 and rostral (R), caudal belt fields caudomedial and caudolateral, and more rostral belt fields middle lateral and middle medial (MM). We found that almost all neurons encountered showed some spatial tuning. However, spatial selectivity measures showed that the caudal belt fields had the sharpest spatial tuning, A1 had intermediate spatial tuning, and areas R and MM had the least spatial tuning. Although most neurons showed their best responses to contralateral space, best azimuths were observed across the entire 360° of tested space. We also noted that although the responses of many neurons were significantly influenced by eye position, eye position did not systematically influence any of the spatially dependent responses that we measured. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that caudal auditory cortical fields in the primate process spatial features more accurately than the core and more rostral belt fields.

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