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Basile GA, Tatti E, Bertino S, Milardi D, Genovese G, Bruno A, Muscatello MRA, Ciurleo R, Cerasa A, Quartarone A, Cacciola A. Neuroanatomical correlates of peripersonal space: bridging the gap between perception, action, emotion and social cognition. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:1047-1072. [PMID: 38683211 PMCID: PMC11147881 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02781-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) is a construct referring to the portion of space immediately surrounding our bodies, where most of the interactions between the subject and the environment, including other individuals, take place. Decades of animal and human neuroscience research have revealed that the brain holds a separate representation of this region of space: this distinct spatial representation has evolved to ensure proper relevance to stimuli that are close to the body and prompt an appropriate behavioral response. The neural underpinnings of such construct have been thoroughly investigated by different generations of studies involving anatomical and electrophysiological investigations in animal models, and, recently, neuroimaging experiments in human subjects. Here, we provide a comprehensive anatomical overview of the anatomical circuitry underlying PPS representation in the human brain. Gathering evidence from multiple areas of research, we identified cortical and subcortical regions that are involved in specific aspects of PPS encoding.We show how these regions are part of segregated, yet integrated functional networks within the brain, which are in turn involved in higher-order integration of information. This wide-scale circuitry accounts for the relevance of PPS encoding in multiple brain functions, including not only motor planning and visuospatial attention but also emotional and social cognitive aspects. A complete characterization of these circuits may clarify the derangements of PPS representation observed in different neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianpaolo Antonio Basile
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
| | - Elisa Tatti
- Department of Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences, CUNY, School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Salvatore Bertino
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Demetrio Milardi
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | | | - Antonio Bruno
- Psychiatry Unit, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy
- Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello
- Psychiatry Unit, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy
- Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | | | - Antonio Cerasa
- S. Anna Institute, Crotone, Italy
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB), National Research Council of Italy, Messina, Italy
- Pharmacotechnology Documentation and Transfer Unit, Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, Health Science and Nutrition, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
| | | | - Alberto Cacciola
- Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
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Fattori P, De Vitis M, Filippini M, Vaccari FE, Diomedi S, Gamberini M, Galletti C. Visual sensitivity at the service of action control in posterior parietal cortex. Front Physiol 2024; 15:1408010. [PMID: 38841208 PMCID: PMC11151461 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1408010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) serves as a crucial hub for the integration of sensory with motor cues related to voluntary actions. Visual input is used in different ways along the dorsomedial and the dorsolateral visual pathways. Here we focus on the dorsomedial pathway and recognize a visual representation at the service of action control. Employing different experimental paradigms applied to behaving monkeys while single neural activity is recorded from the medial PPC (area V6A), we show how plastic visual representation can be, matching the different contexts in which the same object is proposed. We also present data on the exchange between vision and arm actions and highlight how this rich interplay can be used to weight different sensory inputs in order to monitor and correct arm actions online. Indeed, neural activity during reaching or reach-to-grasp actions can be excited or inhibited by visual information, suggesting that the visual perception of action, rather than object recognition, is the most effective factor for area V6A. Also, three-dimensional object shape is encoded dynamically by the neural population, according to the behavioral context of the monkey. Along this line, mirror neuron discharges in V6A indicate the plasticity of visual representation of the graspable objects, that changes according to the context and peaks when the object is the target of one's own action. In other words, object encoding in V6A is a visual encoding for action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marina De Vitis
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Filippini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Diomedi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), Padova, Italy
| | - Michela Gamberini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Wang L, Zhou X, Zeng F, Cao M, Zuo S, Yang J, Kusunoki M, Wang H, Zhou YD, Chen A, Kwok SC. Mixed Selectivity Coding of Content-Temporal Detail by Dorsomedial Posterior Parietal Neurons. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1677232023. [PMID: 37985178 PMCID: PMC10860630 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1677-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The dorsomedial posterior parietal cortex (dmPPC) is part of a higher-cognition network implicated in elaborate processes underpinning memory formation, recollection, episode reconstruction, and temporal information processing. Neural coding for complex episodic processing is however under-documented. Here, we recorded extracellular neural activities from three male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and revealed a set of neural codes of "neuroethogram" in the primate parietal cortex. Analyzing neural responses in macaque dmPPC to naturalistic videos, we discovered several groups of neurons that are sensitive to different categories of ethogram items, low-level sensory features, and saccadic eye movement. We also discovered that the processing of category and feature information by these neurons is sustained by the accumulation of temporal information over a long timescale of up to 30 s, corroborating its reported long temporal receptive windows. We performed an additional behavioral experiment with additional two male rhesus macaques and found that saccade-related activities could not account for the mixed neuronal responses elicited by the video stimuli. We further observed monkeys' scan paths and gaze consistency are modulated by video content. Taken altogether, these neural findings explain how dmPPC weaves fabrics of ongoing experiences together in real time. The high dimensionality of neural representations should motivate us to shift the focus of attention from pure selectivity neurons to mixed selectivity neurons, especially in increasingly complex naturalistic task designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Phylo-Cognition Laboratory, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Kunshan 215316, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xufeng Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Phylo-Cognition Laboratory, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Kunshan 215316, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fu Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Mingfeng Cao
- Phylo-Cognition Laboratory, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Kunshan 215316, Jiangsu, China
- Whiting School of Engineering, department of biomedical engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
| | - Shuzhen Zuo
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Laboratory for Circuit and Behavioral Physiology, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
| | - Jie Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Makoto Kusunoki
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
| | - Huimin Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai 200335, China
- NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Yong-di Zhou
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518052, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
| | - Aihua Chen
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Sze Chai Kwok
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Phylo-Cognition Laboratory, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Kunshan 215316, Jiangsu, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai 200335, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
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Cytoarchitecture, myeloarchitecture, and parcellation of the chimpanzee inferior parietal lobe. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:63-82. [PMID: 35676436 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02514-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The parietal lobe is a region of especially pronounced change in human brain evolution. Based on comparative neuroanatomical studies, the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) has been shown to be disproportionately larger in humans relative to chimpanzees and macaques. However, it remains unclear whether the underlying histological architecture of IPL cortical areas displays human-specific organization. Chimpanzees are among the closest living relatives of humans, making them an ideal comparative species to investigate potential evolutionary changes in the IPL. We parcellated the chimpanzee IPL using cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitecture, in combination with quantitative comparison of cellular features between the identified cortical areas. Four major areas on the lateral convexity of the chimpanzee IPL (PF, PFG, PG, OPT) and two opercular areas (PFOP, PGOP) were identified, similar to what has been observed in macaques. Analysis of the quantitative profiles of cytoarchitecture showed that cell profile density was significantly different in a combination of layers III, IV, and V between bordering cortical areas, and that the density profiles of these six areas supports their classification as distinct. The similarity to macaque IPL cytoarchitecture suggests that chimpanzees share homologous IPL areas. In comparison, human rostral IPL is reported to differ in its anatomical organization and to contain additional subdivisions, such as areas PFt and PFm. These changes in human brain evolution might have been important as tool making capacities became more complex.
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Breveglieri R, Borgomaneri S, Filippini M, Tessari A, Galletti C, Davare M, Fattori P. Complementary contribution of the medial and lateral human parietal cortex to grasping: a repetitive TMS study. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5122-5134. [PMID: 36245221 PMCID: PMC10152058 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The dexterous control of our grasping actions relies on the cooperative activation of many brain areas. In the parietal lobe, 2 grasp-related areas collaborate to orchestrate an accurate grasping action: dorsolateral area AIP and dorsomedial area V6A. Single-cell recordings in monkeys and fMRI studies in humans have suggested that both these areas specify grip aperture and wrist orientation, but encode these grasping parameters differently, depending on the context. To elucidate the causal role of phAIP and hV6A, we stimulated these areas, while participants were performing grasping actions (unperturbed grasping). rTMS over phAIP impaired the wrist orientation process, whereas stimulation over hV6A impaired grip aperture encoding. In a small percentage of trials, an unexpected reprogramming of grip aperture or wrist orientation was required (perturbed grasping). In these cases, rTMS over hV6A or over phAIP impaired reprogramming of both grip aperture and wrist orientation. These results represent the first direct demonstration of a different encoding of grasping parameters by 2 grasp-related parietal areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Breveglieri
- University of Bologna Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, , 40126 Bologna , Italy
| | - Sara Borgomaneri
- University of Bologna Center for studies and research in Cognitive Neuroscience, , 47521 Cesena , Italy
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation , 00179 Rome , Italy
| | - Matteo Filippini
- University of Bologna Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, , 40126 Bologna , Italy
| | - Alessia Tessari
- University of Bologna Department of Psychology, , 40127 Bologna , Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- University of Bologna Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, , 40126 Bologna , Italy
| | - Marco Davare
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, SE1 1UL London, United Kingdom
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- University of Bologna Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, , 40126 Bologna , Italy
- University of Bologna Alma Mater Research Institute For Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (Alma Human AI), , Bologna , Italy
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6
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Goldring AB, Cooke DF, Pineda CR, Recanzone GH, Krubitzer LA. Functional characterization of the fronto-parietal reaching and grasping network: reversible deactivation of M1 and areas 2, 5, and 7b in awake behaving monkeys. J Neurophysiol 2022; 127:1363-1387. [PMID: 35417261 PMCID: PMC9109808 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00279.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present investigation, we examined the role of different cortical fields in the fronto-parietal reaching and grasping network in awake, behaving macaque monkeys. This network is greatly expanded in primates compared to other mammals and coevolved with glabrous hands with opposable thumbs and the extraordinary dexterous behaviors employed by a number of primates, including humans. To examine this, we reversibly deactivated the primary motor area (M1), anterior parietal area 2, and posterior parietal areas 5L and 7b individually while monkeys were performing two types of reaching and grasping tasks. Reversible deactivation was accomplished with small microfluidic thermal regulators abutting specifically targeted cortical areas. Placement of these devices in the different cortical fields was confirmed post hoc in histologically processed tissue. Our results indicate that the different areas examined form a complex network of motor control that is overlapping. However, several consistent themes emerged that suggest the independent roles that motor cortex, area 2, area 7b, and area 5L play in the motor planning and execution of reaching and grasping movements. Area 5L is involved in the early stages and area 7b the later stages of a reaching and grasping movement, motor cortex is involved in all aspects of the execution of the movement, and area 2 provides proprioceptive feedback throughout the movement. We discuss our results in the context of previous studies that explored the fronto-parietal network, the overlapping (but also independent) functions of different nodes of this network, and the rapid compensatory plasticity of this network.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to directly compare the results of cooling different portions of the fronto-parietal reaching and grasping network (motor cortex, anterior and posterior parietal cortex) in the same animals and the first to employ a complex, bimanual reaching and grasping task that is ethologically relevant. Whereas cooling area 7b or area 5L evoked deficits at distinct task phases, cooling M1 evoked a general set of deficits and cooling area 2 evoked proprioceptive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam B Goldring
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Dylan F Cooke
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology (BPK), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Carlos R Pineda
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Gregg H Recanzone
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Leah A Krubitzer
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California
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7
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Gardner EP, Putrino DF, Chen Van Daele J. Neural representation in M1 and S1 cortex of bilateral hand actions during prehension. J Neurophysiol 2022; 127:1007-1025. [PMID: 35294304 PMCID: PMC8993539 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00374.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Bimanual movements that require coordinated actions of the two hands may be coordinated by synchronous bilateral activation of somatosensory and motor cortical areas in both hemispheres, by enhanced activation of individual neurons specialized for bimanual actions, or by both mechanisms. To investigate cortical neural mechanisms that mediate unimanual and bimanual prehension, we compared actions of the left and right hands in a reach to grasp-and-pull instructed-delay task. Spike trains were recorded with multiple electrode arrays placed in the hand area of primary motor (M1) and somatosensory (S1) cortex of the right hemisphere in macaques, allowing us to measure and compare the relative timing, amplitude, and synchronization of cortical activity in these areas as animals grasped and manipulated objects that differed in shape and location. We report that neurons in the right hemisphere show common task-related firing patterns for the two hands but actions of the ipsilateral hand elicited weaker and shorter-duration responses than those of the contralateral hand. We report significant bimanual activation of neurons in M1 but not in S1 cortex when animals have free choice of hand use in prehension tasks. Population ensemble responses in M1 thereby provide an accurate depiction of hand actions during skilled manual tasks. These studies also demonstrate that somatosensory cortical areas serve important cognitive and motor functions in skilled hand actions. Bilateral representation of hand actions may serve an important role in "motor equivalence" when the same movements are performed by either hand and in transfer of skill learning between the hands.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Humans can manipulate small objects with the right or left hand but typically select the dominant hand to handle them. We trained monkeys to grasp and manipulate objects with either hand, while recording neural activity in primary motor (M1) and somatosensory (S1) cortex. Actions of both hands activate M1 neurons, but S1 neurons respond only to the contralateral hand. Bilateral sensitivity in M1 may aid skill transfer between hands after stroke or head injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther P Gardner
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology and NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine Public Health Research Institute, New York, New York
| | - David F Putrino
- Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
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Sobinov AR, Bensmaia SJ. The neural mechanisms of manual dexterity. Nat Rev Neurosci 2021; 22:741-757. [PMID: 34711956 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00528-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The hand endows us with unparalleled precision and versatility in our interactions with objects, from mundane activities such as grasping to extraordinary ones such as virtuoso pianism. The complex anatomy of the human hand combined with expansive and specialized neuronal control circuits allows a wide range of precise manual behaviours. To support these behaviours, an exquisite sensory apparatus, spanning the modalities of touch and proprioception, conveys detailed and timely information about our interactions with objects and about the objects themselves. The study of manual dexterity provides a unique lens into the sensorimotor mechanisms that endow the nervous system with the ability to flexibly generate complex behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton R Sobinov
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sliman J Bensmaia
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. .,Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. .,Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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9
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Orban GA, Sepe A, Bonini L. Parietal maps of visual signals for bodily action planning. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2967-2988. [PMID: 34508272 PMCID: PMC8541987 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02378-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The 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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Affiliation(s)
- Guy A Orban
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, via Volturno 39/E, 43125, Parma, Italy.
| | - Alessia Sepe
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, via Volturno 39/E, 43125, Parma, Italy
| | - Luca Bonini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, via Volturno 39/E, 43125, Parma, Italy.
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10
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Study of grasp-energy based optimal distribution of contact forces on a humanoid robotic hand during object grasp. ROBOTICA 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s0263574721001235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
A novel grasp optimization algorithm for minimizing the net energy utilized by a five-fingered humanoid robotic hand with twenty degrees of freedom for securing a precise grasp is presented in this study. The algorithm utilizes a compliant contact model with a nonlinear spring and damper system to compute the performance measure, called ‘Grasp Energy’. The measure, subject to constraints, has been minimized to obtain locally optimal cartesian trajectories for securing a grasp. A case study is taken to compare the analytical (applying the optimization algorithm) and the simulated data in MSC.Adams
$^{^{\circledR}}$
, to prove the efficacy of the proposed formulation.
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11
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Decoding grip type and action goal during the observation of reaching-grasping actions: A multivariate fMRI study. Neuroimage 2021; 243:118511. [PMID: 34450263 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
During execution and observation of reaching-grasping actions, the brain must encode, at the same time, the final action goal and the type of grip necessary to achieve it. Recently, it has been proposed that the Mirror Neuron System (MNS) is involved not only in coding the final goal of the observed action, but also the type of grip used to grasp the object. However, the specific contribution of the different areas of the MNS, at both cortical and subcortical level, in disentangling action goal and grip type is still unclear. Here, twenty human volunteers participated in an fMRI study in which they performed two tasks: (a) observation of four different types of actions, consisting in reaching-to-grasp a box handle with two possible grips (precision, hook) and two possible goals (open, close); (b) action execution, in which participants performed grasping actions similar to those presented during the observation task. A conjunction analysis revealed the presence of shared activated voxels for both action observation and execution within several cortical areas including dorsal and ventral premotor cortex, inferior and superior parietal cortex, intraparietal sulcus, primary somatosensory cortex, and cerebellar lobules VI and VIII. ROI analyses showed a main effect for grip type in several premotor and parietal areas and cerebellar lobule VI, with higher BOLD activation during observation of precision vs hook actions. A grip x goal interaction was also present in the left inferior parietal cortex, with higher BOLD activity during precision-to-close actions. A multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) revealed a significant accuracy for the grip model in all ROIs, while for the action goal model, significant accuracy was observed only for left inferior parietal cortex ROI. These findings indicate that a large network involving cortical and cerebellar areas is involved in the processing of type of grip, while final action goal appears to be mainly processed within the inferior parietal region, suggesting a differential contribution of the areas activated in this study.
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12
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The Complex Hodological Architecture of the Macaque Dorsal Intraparietal Areas as Emerging from Neural Tracers and DW-MRI Tractography. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0102-21.2021. [PMID: 34039649 PMCID: PMC8266221 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0102-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In macaque monkeys, dorsal intraparietal areas are involved in several daily visuomotor actions. However, their border and sources of cortical afferents remain loosely defined. Combining retrograde histologic tracing and MRI diffusion-based tractography, we found a complex hodology of the dorsal bank of the intraparietal sulcus (db-IPS), which can be subdivided into a rostral intraparietal area PEip, projecting to the spinal cord, and a caudal medial intraparietal area MIP lacking such projections. Both include an anterior and a posterior sector, emerging from their ipsilateral, gradient-like connectivity profiles. As tractography estimations, we used the cross-sectional area of the white matter bundles connecting each area with other parietal and frontal regions, after selecting regions of interest (ROIs) corresponding to the injection sites of neural tracers. For most connections, we found a significant correlation between the proportions of cells projecting to all sectors of PEip and MIP along the continuum of the db-IPS and tractography. The latter also revealed “false positive” but plausible connections awaiting histologic validation.
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13
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Niu M, Rapan L, Funck T, Froudist-Walsh S, Zhao L, Zilles K, Palomero-Gallagher N. Organization of the macaque monkey inferior parietal lobule based on multimodal receptor architectonics. Neuroimage 2021; 231:117843. [PMID: 33577936 PMCID: PMC8188735 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The macaque monkey inferior parietal lobe (IPL) is a structurally heterogeneous brain region, although the number of areas it contains and the anatomical/functional relationship of identified subdivisions remains controversial. Neurotransmitter receptor distribution patterns not only reveal the position of the cortical borders, but also segregate areas associated to different functional systems. Thus we carried out a multimodal quantitative analysis of the cyto- and receptor architecture of the macaque IPL to determine the number and extent of distinct areas it encompasses. We identified four areas on the IPL convexity arranged in a caudo-rostral sequence, as well as two areas in the parietal operculum, which we projected onto the Yerkes19 surface. We found rostral areas to have relatively smaller receptor fingerprints than the caudal ones, which is in an agreement with the functional gradient along the caudo-rostral axis described in previous studies. The hierarchical analysis segregated IPL areas into two clusters: the caudal one, contains areas involved in multisensory integration and visual-motor functions, and rostral cluster, encompasses areas active during motor planning and action-related functions. The results of the present study provide novel insights into clarifying the homologies between human and macaque IPL areas. The ensuing 3D map of the macaque IPL, and the receptor fingerprints are made publicly available to the neuroscientific community via the Human Brain Project and BALSA repositories for future cyto- and/or receptor architectonically driven analyses of functional imaging studies in non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiqi Niu
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Lucija Rapan
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Thomas Funck
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | | | - Ling Zhao
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Karl Zilles
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Nicola Palomero-Gallagher
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; C. & O. Vogt Institute of Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
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14
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Strick PL, Dum RP, Rathelot JA. The Cortical Motor Areas and the Emergence of Motor Skills: A Neuroanatomical Perspective. Annu Rev Neurosci 2021; 44:425-447. [PMID: 33863253 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-070918-050216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
What changes in neural architecture account for the emergence and expansion of dexterity in primates? Dexterity, or skill in performing motor tasks, depends on the ability to generate highly fractionated patterns of muscle activity. It also involves the spatiotemporal coordination of activity in proximal and distal muscles across multiple joints. Many motor skills require the generation of complex movement sequences that are only acquired and refined through extensive practice. Improvements in dexterity have enabled primates to manufacture and use tools and humans to engage in skilled motor behaviors such as typing, dance, musical performance, and sports. Our analysis leads to the following synthesis: The neural substrate that endows primates with their enhanced motor capabilities is due, in part, to (a) major organizational changes in the primary motor cortex and (b) the proliferation of output pathways from other areas of the cerebral cortex, especially from the motor areas on the medial wall of the hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter L Strick
- Department of Neurobiology, Systems Neuroscience Center, and Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA;
| | - Richard P Dum
- Department of Neurobiology, Systems Neuroscience Center, and Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA;
| | - Jean-Alban Rathelot
- Institut des Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, and Aix-Marseille Université, 13005 Marseille, France
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15
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Baarbé J, Vesia M, Brown MJN, Lizarraga KJ, Gunraj C, Jegatheeswaran G, Drummond NM, Rinchon C, Weissbach A, Saravanamuttu J, Chen R. Interhemispheric interactions between the right angular gyrus and the left motor cortex: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:1236-1250. [PMID: 33625938 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00642.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The interconnection of the angular gyrus of right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the left motor cortex (LM1) is essential for goal-directed hand movements. Previous work with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) showed that right PPC stimulation increases LM1 excitability, but right PPC followed by left PPC-LM1 stimulation (LPPC-LM1) inhibits LM1 corticospinal output compared with LPPC-LM1 alone. It is not clear if right PPC-mediated inhibition of LPPC-LM1 is due to inhibition of left PPC or to combined effects of right and left PPC stimulation on LM1 excitability. We used paired-pulse TMS to study the extent to which combined right and left PPC stimulation, targeting the angular gyri, influences LM1 excitability. We tested 16 healthy subjects in five paired-pulsed TMS experiments using MRI-guided neuronavigation to target the angular gyri within PPC. We tested the effects of different right angular gyrus (RAG) and LM1 stimulation intensities on the influence of RAG on LM1 and on influence of left angular gyrus (LAG) on LM1 (LAG-LM1). We then tested the effects of RAG and LAG stimulation on LM1 short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI). The results revealed that RAG facilitated LM1, inhibited SICF, and inhibited LAG-LM1. Combined RAG-LAG stimulation did not affect SICI but increased LICI. These experiments suggest that RAG-mediated inhibition of LAG-LM1 is related to inhibition of early indirect (I)-wave activity and enhancement of GABAB receptor-mediated inhibition in LM1. The influence of RAG on LM1 likely involves ipsilateral connections from LAG to LM1 and heterotopic connections from RAG to LM1.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Goal-directed hand movements rely on the right and left angular gyri (RAG and LAG) and motor cortex (M1), yet how these brain areas functionally interact is unclear. Here, we show that RAG stimulation facilitated right hand motor output from the left M1 but inhibited indirect (I)-waves in M1. Combined RAG and LAG stimulation increased GABAB, but not GABAA, receptor-mediated inhibition in left M1. These findings highlight unique brain interactions between the RAG and left M1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julianne Baarbé
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Michael Vesia
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Matt J N Brown
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.,Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Sacramento, California
| | - Karlo J Lizarraga
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.,Motor Physiology and Neuromodulation Program, Division of Movement Disorders and Center for Health + Technology, Department of Neurology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Carolyn Gunraj
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Gaayathiri Jegatheeswaran
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Neil M Drummond
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Cricia Rinchon
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Anne Weissbach
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.,Institute of Systems Motor Science, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - James Saravanamuttu
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Robert Chen
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Kinesiology, Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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16
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Rodríguez-Aranda C, Castro-Chavira SA, Espenes R, Barrios FA, Waterloo K, Vangberg TR. The Role of Moderating Variables on BOLD fMRI Response During Semantic Verbal Fluency and Finger Tapping in Active and Educated Healthy Seniors. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:203. [PMID: 32581748 PMCID: PMC7290010 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic verbal fluency is among the most employed tasks in cognitive aging research and substantial work is devoted to understanding the underlying mechanisms behind age-related differences at the neural and behavioral levels. The present investigation aimed to evaluate the role of moderating variables, such as age, sex, MMSE, and proxies of cognitive reserve (CR) on the hemodynamic response evoked by semantic verbal fluency in healthy young and healthy older adults. So far, no study has been conducted to this end. To elucidate the exclusive effect of the mentioned variables on brain activation during semantic fluency, finger tapping was included as a control task. Results showed that disregarding adjustments for age, older adults displayed important parietal activations during semantic fluency as well as during finger-tapping. Specifically, the anterior intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) and left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) were areas activated in both tasks in the older group. Younger adults, only displayed parietal activations related to age and sex when these demographics were employed as predictors. Concerning proxies of CR in semantic fluency, the only vocabulary was an important moderator in both age groups. Higher vocabulary scores were associated with lesser activation in occipital areas. Education did not show significant correlations with brain activity during semantic fluency in any of the groups. However, both CR proxies were significantly correlated to brain activations of older adults during finger tapping. Specifically, vocabulary was associated with frontal regions, while education correlated with parietal lobe and cingulate gyrus. Finally, the effects of MMSE were mostly observed on brain activation of older adults in both tasks. These findings demonstrate that the effects of moderating variables on shaping brain activation are intricate and not exclusive of complex verbal tasks. Thus, before adjusting for “nuisance variables,” their importance needs to be established. This is especially true for samples including older adults for whom a motor task may be a demanding operation due to normal age-related processes of dedifferentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Rodríguez-Aranda
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Susana A Castro-Chavira
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ragna Espenes
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Fernando A Barrios
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Knut Waterloo
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Torgil R Vangberg
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.,Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
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17
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Mayer A, Lewenfus G, Bittencourt-Navarrete RE, Clasca F, Franca JGD. Thalamic Inputs to Posterior Parietal Cortical Areas Involved in Skilled Forelimb Movement and Tool Use in the Capuchin Monkey. Cereb Cortex 2019; 29:5098-5115. [PMID: 30888415 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Revised: 02/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is a central hub for the primate forebrain networks that control skilled manual behavior, including tool use. Here, we quantified and compared the sources of thalamic input to electrophysiologically-identified hand/forearm-related regions of several PPC areas, namely areas 5v, AIP, PFG, and PF, of the capuchin monkey (Sapajus sp). We found that these areas receive most of their thalamic connections from the Anterior Pulvinar (PuA), Lateral Posterior (LP) and Medial Pulvinar (PuM) nuclei. Each PPC area receives a specific combination of projections from these nuclei, and fewer additional projections from other nuclei. Moreover, retrograde labeling of the cells innervating different PPC areas revealed substantial intermingling of these cells within the thalamus. Differences in thalamic input may contribute to the different functional properties displayed by the PPC areas. Furthermore, the observed innervation of functionally-related PPC domains from partly intermingled thalamic cell populations accords with the notion that higher-order thalamic inputs may dynamically regulate functional connectivity between cortical areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Mayer
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88040-900, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Lewenfus
- Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Francisco Clasca
- Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, Autonoma University, Madrid, 28029 Spain
| | - João Guedes da Franca
- Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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18
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Baldwin MKL, Cooke DF, Goldring AB, Krubitzer L. Representations of Fine Digit Movements in Posterior and Anterior Parietal Cortex Revealed Using Long-Train Intracortical Microstimulation in Macaque Monkeys. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:4244-4263. [PMID: 29136133 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The current investigation in macaque monkeys utilized long-train intracortical microstimulation to determine the extent of cortex from which movements could be evoked. Not only were movements evoked from motor areas (PMC and M1), but they were also evoked from posterior parietal (5, 7a, 7b) and anterior parietal areas (3b, 1, 2). Large representations of digit movements involving only the index finger (D2) and thumb (D1), were elicited from areas 1, 2, 7b, and M1. Other movements evoked from these regions were similar to ethologically relevant movements that have been described in other primates. These include combined forelimb and mouth movements and full hand grasps. However, many other movements were much more complex and could not be categorized into any of the previously described ethological categories. Movements involving specific digits, which mimic precision grips, are unique to macaques and have not been described in New World or prosimian primates. We propose that these multiple and expanded motor representations of the digits co-evolved with the emergence of the opposable thumb and alterations in grip type in some anthropoid lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary K L Baldwin
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, 1544 Newton Court, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Dylan F Cooke
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, 1544 Newton Court, Davis, CA, USA.,Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Adam B Goldring
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, 1544 Newton Court, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Leah Krubitzer
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, 1544 Newton Court, Davis, CA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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19
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The neglected medial part of macaque area PE: segregated processing of reach depth and direction. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:2537-2557. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01923-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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20
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Nelissen K, Fiave PA, Vanduffel W. Decoding Grasping Movements from the Parieto-Frontal Reaching Circuit in the Nonhuman Primate. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:1245-1259. [PMID: 28334082 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Prehension movements typically include a reaching phase, guiding the hand toward the object, and a grip phase, shaping the hand around it. The dominant view posits that these components rely upon largely independent parieto-frontal circuits: a dorso-medial circuit involved in reaching and a dorso-lateral circuit involved in grasping. However, mounting evidence suggests a more complex arrangement, with dorso-medial areas contributing to both reaching and grasping. To investigate the role of the dorso-medial reaching circuit in grasping, we trained monkeys to reach-and-grasp different objects in the dark and determined if hand configurations could be decoded from functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) responses obtained from the reaching and grasping circuits. Indicative of their established role in grasping, object-specific grasp decoding was found in anterior intraparietal (AIP) area, inferior parietal lobule area PFG and ventral premotor region F5 of the lateral grasping circuit, and primary motor cortex. Importantly, the medial reaching circuit also conveyed robust grasp-specific information, as evidenced by significant decoding in parietal reach regions (particular V6A) and dorsal premotor region F2. These data support the proposed role of dorso-medial "reach" regions in controlling aspects of grasping and demonstrate the value of complementing univariate with more sensitive multivariate analyses of functional MRI (fMRI) data in uncovering information coding in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen Nelissen
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Prosper Agbesi Fiave
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Wim Vanduffel
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martino's Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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21
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Hadjidimitrakis K, Bakola S, Wong YT, Hagan MA. Mixed Spatial and Movement Representations in the Primate Posterior Parietal Cortex. Front Neural Circuits 2019; 13:15. [PMID: 30914925 PMCID: PMC6421332 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2019.00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of humans and non-human primates plays a key role in the sensory and motor transformations required to guide motor actions to objects of interest in the environment. Despite decades of research, the anatomical and functional organization of this region is still a matter of contention. It is generally accepted that specialized parietal subregions and their functional counterparts in the frontal cortex participate in distinct segregated networks related to eye, arm and hand movements. However, experimental evidence obtained primarily from single neuron recording studies in non-human primates has demonstrated a rich mixing of signals processed by parietal neurons, calling into question ideas for a strict functional specialization. Here, we present a brief account of this line of research together with the basic trends in the anatomical connectivity patterns of the parietal subregions. We review, the evidence related to the functional communication between subregions of the PPC and describe progress towards using parietal neuron activity in neuroprosthetic applications. Recent literature suggests a role for the PPC not as a constellation of specialized functional subdomains, but as a dynamic network of sensorimotor loci that combine multiple signals and work in concert to guide motor behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kostas Hadjidimitrakis
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University Node, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Sophia Bakola
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University Node, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Yan T Wong
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Department of Electrical and Computer Science Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Maureen A Hagan
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University Node, Clayton, VIC, Australia
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22
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Padberg J, Cooke DF, Cerkevich CM, Kaas JH, Krubitzer L. Cortical connections of area 2 and posterior parietal area 5 in macaque monkeys. J Comp Neurol 2019; 527:718-737. [PMID: 29663384 PMCID: PMC6191384 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The overarching goal of the current investigation was to examine the connections of anterior parietal area 2 and the medial portion of posterior parietal area 5 in macaque monkeys; two areas that are part of a network involved reaching and grasping in primates. We injected neuroanatomical tracers into specified locations in each field and directly related labeled cells to histologically identified cortical field boundaries. Labeled cells were counted so that the relative density of projections to areas 2 and 5 from other cortical fields could be determined. Projections to area 2 were restricted and were predominantly from other somatosensory areas of the anterior parietal cortex (areas 1, 3b, and 3a), the second somatosensory area (S2), and from medial and lateral portions of area 5 (5M and 5L respectively). On the other hand, area 5M had very broadly distributed projections from a number of cortical areas including anterior parietal areas, from primary motor cortex (M1), premotor cortex (PM), the supplementary motor area (SMA), cortex on the medial wall, and from posterior parietal areas 5L and 7b. The more restricted pattern of connections of area 2 indicates that it processes somatic inputs locally and provides proprioceptive information to area 5M. 5M, which at least partially overlaps with functionally defined area MIP, receives inputs from somatosensory (predominantly from area 2), posterior parietal and motor cortex, which could provide the substrate for representing multiple coordinate systems necessary for planning ethologically relevant movements, particularly those involving the hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Padberg
- Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR, 72035, USA
| | - Dylan F. Cooke
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A1S6, Canada
| | | | | | - Leah Krubitzer
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
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23
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Siok WT, Liu CY. Differential impacts of different keyboard inputting methods on reading and writing skills. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17183. [PMID: 30464303 PMCID: PMC6249315 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35268-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Nowadays, typewriting has become an important mode of written communication. A report that typewriting may hinder Chinese children's reading development has sparked substantial concern about whether typing on electronic devices would increase the rate of reading disorders, wherein children used a pronunciation-based input system that associates alphabet letters with phonemes in standard Chinese (Putonghua) and may conflict with the traditional visuomotor-based learning processes for written Chinese. If orthographic-based input methods that require good awareness of the orthographic structure of characters are used, different outcomes might be observed. This study examined the impact of participants' experience in different typewriting methods on the literacy abilities of fluent Chinese-English bilingual readers. We found that orthographic-based typewriting measures correlated positively with Chinese reading measures, whereas pronunciation-based typewriting measures did not correlate with Chinese reading measures but correlated positively with English reading and spelling performance. Orthographic-based typewriters also performed better than pronunciation-based typewriters in Chinese reading and dictation when their age, typewriting skills and pre-University language ability were statistically controlled. Our findings based on two contrastive writing systems suggest that typewriting methods that tally with the learning principles of a writing system should be used to promote and preserve literacy skills in the digital era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wai Ting Siok
- Department of Linguistics, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong.
| | - Chun Yin Liu
- Department of Linguistics, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong
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24
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Castiello U, Dadda M. A review and consideration on the kinematics of reach-to-grasp movements in macaque monkeys. J Neurophysiol 2018; 121:188-204. [PMID: 30427765 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00598.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The bases for understanding the neuronal mechanisms that underlie the control of reach-to-grasp movements among nonhuman primates, particularly macaques, has been widely studied. However, only a few kinematic descriptions of their prehensile actions are available. A thorough understanding of macaques' prehensile movements is manifestly critical, in light of their role in biomedical research as valuable models for studying neuromotor disorders and brain mechanisms, as well as for developing brain-machine interfaces to facilitate arm control. This article aims to review the current state of knowledge on the kinematics of grasping movements that macaques perform in naturalistic, seminaturalistic, and laboratory settings, to answer the following questions: Are kinematic signatures affected by the context within which the movement is performed? In what ways are kinematics of humans' and macaques' prehensile actions similar/dissimilar? Our analysis reflects the challenges involved in making comparisons across settings and species due to the heterogeneous picture in terms of the number of subjects, stimuli, conditions, and hands used. The kinematics of free-ranging macaques are characterized by distinctive features that are exhibited neither by macaques in laboratory setting nor by human subjects. The temporal incidence of key kinematic landmarks diverges significantly between species, indicating disparities in the overall organization of movement. Given such complexities, we attempt a synthesis of the extant body of evidence, intending to generate some significant implications for directions that future research might take to recognize the remaining gaps and pursue the insights and resolutions to generate an interpretation of movement kinematics that accounts for all settings and subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umberto Castiello
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova , Padua , Italy
| | - Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova , Padua , Italy
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25
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Delhaye BP, Long KH, Bensmaia SJ. Neural Basis of Touch and Proprioception in Primate Cortex. Compr Physiol 2018; 8:1575-1602. [PMID: 30215864 PMCID: PMC6330897 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c170033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The sense of proprioception allows us to keep track of our limb posture and movements and the sense of touch provides us with information about objects with which we come into contact. In both senses, mechanoreceptors convert the deformation of tissues-skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, or joints-into neural signals. Tactile and proprioceptive signals are then relayed by the peripheral nerves to the central nervous system, where they are processed to give rise to percepts of objects and of the state of our body. In this review, we first examine briefly the receptors that mediate touch and proprioception, their associated nerve fibers, and pathways they follow to the cerebral cortex. We then provide an overview of the different cortical areas that process tactile and proprioceptive information. Next, we discuss how various features of objects-their shape, motion, and texture, for example-are encoded in the various cortical fields, and the susceptibility of these neural codes to attention and other forms of higher-order modulation. Finally, we summarize recent efforts to restore the senses of touch and proprioception by electrically stimulating somatosensory cortex. © 2018 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 8:1575-1602, 2018.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit P Delhaye
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
| | - Katie H Long
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
| | - Sliman J Bensmaia
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA.,Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
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Santandrea E, Breveglieri R, Bosco A, Galletti C, Fattori P. Preparatory activity for purposeful arm movements in the dorsomedial parietal area V6A: Beyond the online guidance of movement. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6926. [PMID: 29720690 PMCID: PMC5931970 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25117-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the years, electrophysiological recordings in macaque monkeys performing visuomotor tasks brought about accumulating evidence for the expression of neuronal properties (e.g., selectivity in the visuospatial and somatosensory domains, encoding of visual affordances and motor cues) in the posterior parietal area V6A that characterize it as an ideal neural substrate for online control of prehension. Interestingly, neuroimaging studies suggested a role of putative human V6A also in action preparation; moreover, pre-movement population activity in monkey V6A has been recently shown to convey grip-related information for upcoming grasping. Here we directly test whether macaque V6A neurons encode preparatory signals that effectively differentiate between dissimilar actions before movement. We recorded the activity of single V6A neurons during execution of two visuomotor tasks requiring either reach-to-press or reach-to-grasp movements in different background conditions, and described the nature and temporal dynamics of V6A activity preceding movement execution. We found striking consistency in neural discharges measured during pre-movement and movement epochs, suggesting that the former is a preparatory activity exquisitely linked to the subsequent execution of particular motor actions. These findings strongly support a role of V6A beyond the online guidance of movement, with preparatory activity implementing suitable motor programs that subsequently support action execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Santandrea
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Rossella Breveglieri
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Annalisa Bosco
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
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Fattori P, Breveglieri R, Bosco A, Gamberini M, Galletti C. Vision for Prehension in the Medial Parietal Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:1149-1163. [PMID: 26656999 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In the last 2 decades, the medial posterior parietal area V6A has been extensively studied in awake macaque monkeys for visual and somatosensory properties and for its involvement in encoding of spatial parameters for reaching, including arm movement direction and amplitude. This area also contains populations of neurons sensitive to grasping movements, such as wrist orientation and grip formation. Recent work has shown that V6A neurons also encode the shape of graspable objects and their affordance. In other words, V6A seems to encode object visual properties specifically for the purpose of action, in a dynamic sequence of visuomotor transformations that evolve in the course of reach-to-grasp action.We propose a model of cortical circuitry controlling reach-to-grasp actions, in which V6A acts as a comparator that monitors differences between current and desired hand positions and configurations. This error signal could be used to continuously update the motor output, and to correct reach direction, hand orientation, and/or grip aperture as required during the act of prehension.In contrast to the generally accepted view that the dorsomedial component of the dorsal visual stream encodes reaching, but not grasping, the functional properties of V6A neurons strongly suggest the view that this area is involved in encoding all phases of prehension, including grasping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Rossella Breveglieri
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Annalisa Bosco
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Michela Gamberini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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Human neuroimaging reveals the subcomponents of grasping, reaching and pointing actions. Cortex 2018; 98:128-148. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Revised: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Cortical Afferents and Myeloarchitecture Distinguish the Medial Intraparietal Area (MIP) from Neighboring Subdivisions of the Macaque Cortex. eNeuro 2017; 4:eN-NWR-0344-17. [PMID: 29379868 PMCID: PMC5779118 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0344-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2017] [Revised: 11/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The parietal reach region (PRR) in the medial bank of the macaque intraparietal sulcus has been a subject of considerable interest in research aimed at the development of brain-controlled prosthetic arms, but its anatomical organization remains poorly characterized. We examined the anatomical organization of the putative PRR territory based on myeloarchitecture and retrograde tracer injections. We found that the medial bank includes three areas: an extension of the dorsal subdivision of V6A (V6Ad), the medial intraparietal area (MIP), and a subdivision of area PE (PEip). Analysis of corticocortical connections revealed that both V6Ad and MIP receive inputs from visual area V6; the ventral subdivision of V6A (V6Av); medial (PGm, 31), superior (PEc), and inferior (PFG/PF) parietal association areas; and intraparietal areas AIP and VIP. They also receive long-range projections from the superior temporal sulcus (MST, TPO), cingulate area 23, and the dorsocaudal (area F2) and ventral (areas F4/F5) premotor areas. In comparison with V6Ad, MIP receives denser input from somatosensory areas, the primary motor cortex, and the medial motor fields, as well as from visual cortex in the ventral precuneate cortex and frontal regions associated with oculomotor guidance. Unlike MIP, V6Ad receives stronger visual input, from the caudal inferior parietal cortex (PG/Opt) and V6Av, whereas PEip shows marked emphasis on anterior parietal, primary motor, and ventral premotor connections. These anatomical results suggest that MIP and V6A have complementary roles in sensorimotor behavior, with MIP more directly involved in movement planning and execution in comparison with V6A.
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Cross ES, Hamilton AFDC, Cohen NR, Grafton ST. Learning to tie the knot: The acquisition of functional object representations by physical and observational experience. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185044. [PMID: 29023463 PMCID: PMC5638238 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we examined neural substrates for physically and observationally learning to construct novel objects, and characterized brain regions associated with each kind of learning using fMRI. Each participant was assigned a training partner, and for five consecutive days practiced tying one group of knots (“tied” condition) or watched their partner tie different knots (“watched” condition) while a third set of knots remained untrained. Functional MRI was obtained prior to and immediately following the week of training while participants performed a visual knot-matching task. After training, a portion of left superior parietal lobule demonstrated a training by scan session interaction. This means this parietal region responded selectively to knots that participants had physically learned to tie in the post-training scan session but not the pre-training scan session. A conjunction analysis on the post-training scan data showed right intraparietal sulcus and right dorsal premotor cortex to respond when viewing images of knots from the tied and watched conditions compared to knots that were untrained during the post-training scan session. This suggests that these brain areas track both physical and observational learning. Together, the data provide preliminary evidence of engagement of brain regions associated with hand-object interactions when viewing objects associated with physical experience, and with observational experience without concurrent physical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S. Cross
- Wales Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, Wales
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Nichola Rice Cohen
- Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Scott T. Grafton
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
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Hernández-Pérez R, Cuaya LV, Rojas-Hortelano E, Reyes-Aguilar A, Concha L, de Lafuente V. Tactile object categories can be decoded from the parietal and lateral-occipital cortices. Neuroscience 2017; 352:226-235. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.03.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2016] [Revised: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Breveglieri R, De Vitis M, Bosco A, Galletti C, Fattori P. Interplay Between Grip and Vision in the Monkey Medial Parietal Lobe. Cereb Cortex 2017; 28:2028-2042. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Breveglieri
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Marina De Vitis
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Annalisa Bosco
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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Neural pathways for cognitive command and control of hand movements. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:4048-4050. [PMID: 28377513 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1702746114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Posterior parietal cortex contains a command apparatus for hand movements. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:4255-4260. [PMID: 28373554 PMCID: PMC5402465 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1608132114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mountcastle and colleagues proposed that the posterior parietal cortex contains a "command apparatus" for the operation of the hand in immediate extrapersonal space [Mountcastle et al. (1975) J Neurophysiol 38(4):871-908]. Here we provide three lines of converging evidence that a lateral region within area 5 has corticospinal neurons that are directly linked to the control of hand movements. First, electrical stimulation in a lateral region of area 5 evokes finger and wrist movements. Second, corticospinal neurons in the same region of area 5 terminate at spinal locations that contain last-order interneurons that innervate hand motoneurons. Third, this lateral region of area 5 contains many neurons that make disynaptic connections with hand motoneurons. The disynaptic input to motoneurons from this portion of area 5 is as direct and prominent as that from any of the premotor areas in the frontal lobe. Thus, our results establish that a region within area 5 contains a motor area with corticospinal neurons that could function as a command apparatus for operation of the hand.
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Borra E, Gerbella M, Rozzi S, Luppino G. The macaque lateral grasping network: A neural substrate for generating purposeful hand actions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 75:65-90. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Revised: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Computational Architecture of the Parieto-Frontal Network Underlying Cognitive-Motor Control in Monkeys. eNeuro 2017; 4:eN-NWR-0306-16. [PMID: 28275714 PMCID: PMC5329620 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0306-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Revised: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The statistical structure of intrinsic parietal and parieto-frontal connectivity in monkeys was studied through hierarchical cluster analysis. Based on their inputs, parietal and frontal areas were grouped into different clusters, including a variable number of areas that in most instances occupied contiguous architectonic fields. Connectivity tended to be stronger locally: that is, within areas of the same cluster. Distant frontal and parietal areas were targeted through connections that in most instances were reciprocal and often of different strength. These connections linked parietal and frontal clusters formed by areas sharing basic functional properties. This led to five different medio-laterally oriented pillar domains spanning the entire extent of the parieto-frontal system, in the posterior parietal, anterior parietal, cingulate, frontal, and prefrontal cortex. Different information processing streams could be identified thanks to inter-domain connectivity. These streams encode fast hand reaching and its control, complex visuomotor action spaces, hand grasping, action/intention recognition, oculomotor intention and visual attention, behavioral goals and strategies, and reward and decision value outcome. Most of these streams converge on the cingulate domain, the main hub of the system. All of them are embedded within a larger eye–hand coordination network, from which they can be selectively set in motion by task demands.
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Yau JM, Kim SS, Thakur PH, Bensmaia SJ. Feeling form: the neural basis of haptic shape perception. J Neurophysiol 2016; 115:631-42. [PMID: 26581869 PMCID: PMC4752307 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00598.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The tactile perception of the shape of objects critically guides our ability to interact with them. In this review, we describe how shape information is processed as it ascends the somatosensory neuraxis of primates. At the somatosensory periphery, spatial form is represented in the spatial patterns of activation evoked across populations of mechanoreceptive afferents. In the cerebral cortex, neurons respond selectively to particular spatial features, like orientation and curvature. While feature selectivity of neurons in the earlier processing stages can be understood in terms of linear receptive field models, higher order somatosensory neurons exhibit nonlinear response properties that result in tuning for more complex geometrical features. In fact, tactile shape processing bears remarkable analogies to its visual counterpart and the two may rely on shared neural circuitry. Furthermore, one of the unique aspects of primate somatosensation is that it contains a deformable sensory sheet. Because the relative positions of cutaneous mechanoreceptors depend on the conformation of the hand, the haptic perception of three-dimensional objects requires the integration of cutaneous and proprioceptive signals, an integration that is observed throughout somatosensory cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Yau
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas;
| | - Sung Soo Kim
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia
| | | | - Sliman J Bensmaia
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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van der Stoep N, Serino A, Farnè A, Di Luca M, Spence C. Depth: the Forgotten Dimension in Multisensory Research. Multisens Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The last quarter of a century has seen a dramatic rise of interest in the spatial constraints on multisensory integration. However, until recently, the majority of this research has investigated integration in the space directly in front of the observer. The space around us, however, extends in three spatial dimensions in the front and to the rear beyond such a limited area. The question to be addressed in this review concerns whether multisensory integration operates according to the same rules throughout the whole of three-dimensional space. The results reviewed here not only show that the space around us seems to be divided into distinct functional regions, but they also suggest that multisensory interactions are modulated by the region of space in which stimuli happen to be presented. We highlight a number of key limitations with previous research in this area, including: (1) The focus on only a very narrow region of two-dimensional space in front of the observer; (2) the use of static stimuli in most research; (3) the study of observers who themselves have been mostly static; and (4) the study of isolated observers. All of these factors may change the way in which the senses interact at any given distance, as can the emotional state/personality of the observer. In summarizing these salient issues, we hope to encourage researchers to consider these factors in their own research in order to gain a better understanding of the spatial constraints on multisensory integration as they affect us in our everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. van der Stoep
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - A. Serino
- Center for Neuroprosthetics, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A. Farnè
- ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, 69000 Lyon, France
| | - M. Di Luca
- School of Psychology, CNCR, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - C. Spence
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Di Bono MG, Begliomini C, Castiello U, Zorzi M. Probing the reaching-grasping network in humans through multivoxel pattern decoding. Brain Behav 2015; 5:e00412. [PMID: 26664793 PMCID: PMC4666323 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2015] [Revised: 07/27/2015] [Accepted: 09/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The quest for a putative human homolog of the reaching-grasping network identified in monkeys has been the focus of many neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies in recent years. These studies have shown that the network underlying reaching-only and reach-to-grasp movements includes the superior parieto-occipital cortex (SPOC), the anterior part of the human intraparietal sulcus (hAIP), the ventral and the dorsal portion of the premotor cortex, and the primary motor cortex (M1). Recent evidence for a wider frontoparietal network coding for different aspects of reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions calls for a more fine-grained assessment of the reaching-grasping network in humans by exploiting pattern decoding methods (multivoxel pattern analysis--MVPA). METHODS Here, we used MPVA on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to assess whether regions of the frontoparietal network discriminate between reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions, natural and constrained grasping, different grasp types, and object sizes. Participants were required to perform either reaching-only movements or two reach-to-grasp types (precision or whole hand grasp) upon spherical objects of different sizes. RESULTS Multivoxel pattern analysis highlighted that, independently from the object size, all the selected regions of both hemispheres contribute in coding for grasp type, with the exception of SPOC and the right hAIP. Consistent with recent neurophysiological findings on monkeys, there was no evidence for a clear-cut distinction between a dorsomedial and a dorsolateral pathway that would be specialized for reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions, respectively. Nevertheless, the comparison of decoding accuracy across brain areas highlighted their different contributions to reaching-only and grasping actions. CONCLUSIONS Altogether, our findings enrich the current knowledge regarding the functional role of key brain areas involved in the cortical control of reaching-only and reach-to-grasp actions in humans, by revealing novel fine-grained distinctions among action types within a wide frontoparietal network.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chiara Begliomini
- Department of General Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy ; Cognitive Neuroscience Center University of Padova Padova Italy
| | - Umberto Castiello
- Department of General Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy ; Cognitive Neuroscience Center University of Padova Padova Italy ; Centro Interdisciplinare Beniamino Segre Accademia dei Lincei Roma Italy
| | - Marco Zorzi
- Department of General Psychology University of Padova Padova Italy ; Cognitive Neuroscience Center University of Padova Padova Italy ; IRCCS San Camillo Hospital Venice-Lido Italy
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Peters RM, Staibano P, Goldreich D. Tactile orientation perception: an ideal observer analysis of human psychophysical performance in relation to macaque area 3b receptive fields. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:3076-96. [PMID: 26354318 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00631.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 09/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to resolve the orientation of edges is crucial to daily tactile and sensorimotor function, yet the means by which edge perception occurs is not well understood. Primate cortical area 3b neurons have diverse receptive field (RF) spatial structures that may participate in edge orientation perception. We evaluated five candidate RF models for macaque area 3b neurons, previously recorded while an oriented bar contacted the monkey's fingertip. We used a Bayesian classifier to assign each neuron a best-fit RF structure. We generated predictions for human performance by implementing an ideal observer that optimally decoded stimulus-evoked spike counts in the model neurons. The ideal observer predicted a saturating reduction in bar orientation discrimination threshold with increasing bar length. We tested 24 humans on an automated, precision-controlled bar orientation discrimination task and observed performance consistent with that predicted. We next queried the ideal observer to discover the RF structure and number of cortical neurons that best matched each participant's performance. Human perception was matched with a median of 24 model neurons firing throughout a 1-s period. The 10 lowest-performing participants were fit with RFs lacking inhibitory sidebands, whereas 12 of the 14 higher-performing participants were fit with RFs containing inhibitory sidebands. Participants whose discrimination improved as bar length increased to 10 mm were fit with longer RFs; those who performed well on the 2-mm bar, with narrower RFs. These results suggest plausible RF features and computational strategies underlying tactile spatial perception and may have implications for perceptual learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M Peters
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Phillip Staibano
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Goldreich
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; McMaster Integrative Neuroscience Discovery and Study, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; and McMaster University Origins Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Lobben M, D'Ascenzo S. Grounding grammatical categories: attention bias in hand space influences grammatical congruency judgment of Chinese nominal classifiers. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1299. [PMID: 26379611 PMCID: PMC4550751 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodied cognitive theories predict that linguistic conceptual representations are grounded and continually represented in real world, sensorimotor experiences. However, there is an on-going debate on whether this also holds for abstract concepts. Grammar is the archetype of abstract knowledge, and therefore constitutes a test case against embodied theories of language representation. Former studies have largely focussed on lexical-level embodied representations. In the present study we take the grounding-by-modality idea a step further by using reaction time (RT) data from the linguistic processing of nominal classifiers in Chinese. We take advantage of an independent body of research, which shows that attention in hand space is biased. Specifically, objects near the hand consistently yield shorter RTs as a function of readiness for action on graspable objects within reaching space, and the same biased attention inhibits attentional disengagement. We predicted that this attention bias would equally apply to the graspable object classifier but not to the big object classifier. Chinese speakers (N = 22) judged grammatical congruency of classifier-noun combinations in two conditions: graspable object classifier and big object classifier. We found that RTs for the graspable object classifier were significantly faster in congruent combinations, and significantly slower in incongruent combinations, than the big object classifier. There was no main effect on grammatical violations, but rather an interaction effect of classifier type. Thus, we demonstrate here grammatical category-specific effects pertaining to the semantic content and by extension the visual and tactile modality of acquisition underlying the acquisition of these categories. We conclude that abstract grammatical categories are subjected to the same mechanisms as general cognitive and neurophysiological processes and may therefore be grounded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marit Lobben
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo Norway
| | - Stefania D'Ascenzo
- Department of Communication and Economics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna Italy
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Frey SH, Hansen M, Marchal N. Grasping with the Press of a Button: Grasp-selective Responses in the Human Anterior Intraparietal Sulcus Depend on Nonarbitrary Causal Relationships between Hand Movements and End-effector Actions. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 27:1146-60. [PMID: 25436672 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Evidence implicates ventral parieto-premotor cortices in representing the goal of grasping independent of the movements or effectors involved [Umilta, M. A., Escola, L., Intskirveli, I., Grammont, F., Rochat, M., Caruana, F., et al. When pliers become fingers in the monkey motor system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 105, 2209-2213, 2008; Tunik, E., Frey, S. H., & Grafton, S. T. Virtual lesions of the anterior intraparietal area disrupt goal-dependent on-line adjustments of grasp. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 505-511, 2005]. Modern technologies that enable arbitrary causal relationships between hand movements and tool actions provide a strong test of this hypothesis. We capitalized on this unique opportunity by recording activity with fMRI during tasks in which healthy adults performed goal-directed reach and grasp actions manually or by depressing buttons to initiate these same behaviors in a remotely located robotic arm (arbitrary causal relationship). As shown previously [Binkofski, F., Dohle, C., Posse, S., Stephan, K. M., Hefter, H., Seitz, R. J., et al. Human anterior intraparietal area subserves prehension: A combined lesion and functional MRI activation study. Neurology, 50, 1253-1259, 1998], we detected greater activity in the vicinity of the anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) during manual grasp versus reach. In contrast to prior studies involving tools controlled by nonarbitrarily related hand movements [Gallivan, J. P., McLean, D. A., Valyear, K. F., & Culham, J. C. Decoding the neural mechanisms of human tool use. Elife, 2, e00425, 2013; Jacobs, S., Danielmeier, C., & Frey, S. H. Human anterior intraparietal and ventral premotor cortices support representations of grasping with the hand or a novel tool. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22, 2594-2608, 2010], however, responses within the aIPS and premotor cortex exhibited no evidence of selectivity for grasp when participants employed the robot. Instead, these regions showed comparable increases in activity during both the reach and grasp conditions. Despite equivalent sensorimotor demands, the right cerebellar hemisphere displayed greater activity when participants initiated the robot's actions versus when they pressed a button known to be nonfunctional and watched the very same actions undertaken autonomously. This supports the hypothesis that the cerebellum predicts the forthcoming sensory consequences of volitional actions [Blakemore, S. J., Frith, C. D., & Wolpert, D. M. The cerebellum is involved in predicting the sensory consequences of action. NeuroReport, 12, 1879-1884, 2001]. We conclude that grasp-selective responses in the human aIPS and premotor cortex depend on the existence of nonarbitrary causal relationships between hand movements and end-effector actions.
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Rojas-Hortelano E, Concha L, de Lafuente V. The parietal cortices participate in encoding, short-term memory, and decision-making related to tactile shape. J Neurophysiol 2014; 112:1894-902. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00177.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We routinely identify objects with our hands, and the physical attributes of touched objects are often held in short-term memory to aid future decisions. However, the brain structures that selectively process tactile information to encode object shape are not fully identified. In this article we describe the areas within the human cerebral cortex that specialize in encoding, short-term memory, and decision-making related to the shape of objects explored with the hand. We performed event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging in subjects performing a shape discrimination task in which two sequentially presented objects had to be explored to determine whether they had the same shape or not. To control for low-level and nonspecific brain activations, subjects performed a temperature discrimination task in which they compared the temperature of two spheres. Our results show that although a large network of brain structures is engaged in somatosensory processing, it is the areas lining the intraparietal sulcus that selectively participate in encoding, maintaining, and deciding on tactile information related to the shape of objects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luis Concha
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Victor de Lafuente
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, Mexico
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Goldring AB, Cooke DF, Baldwin MKL, Recanzone GH, Gordon AG, Pan T, Simon SI, Krubitzer L. Reversible deactivation of higher-order posterior parietal areas. II. Alterations in response properties of neurons in areas 1 and 2. J Neurophysiol 2014; 112:2545-60. [PMID: 25143537 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00141.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The role that posterior parietal (PPC) and motor cortices play in modulating neural responses in somatosensory areas 1 and 2 was examined with reversible deactivation by transient cooling. Multiunit recordings from neurons in areas 1 and 2 were collected from six anesthetized adult monkeys (Macaca mulatta) before, during, and after reversible deactivation of areas 5L or 7b or motor cortex (M1/PM), while select locations on the hand and forelimb were stimulated. Response changes were quantified as increases and decreases to stimulus-driven activity relative to baseline and analyzed during three recording epochs: during deactivation ("cool") and at two time points after deactivation ("rewarm 1," "rewarm 2"). Although the type of response change observed was variable, for neurons at the recording sites tested >90% exhibited a significant change in response during cooling of 7b while cooling area 5L or M1/PM produced a change in 75% and 64% of sites, respectively. These results suggest that regions in the PPC, and to a lesser extent motor cortex, shape the response characteristics of neurons in areas 1 and 2 and that this kind of feedback modulation is necessary for normal somatosensory processing. Furthermore, this modulation appears to happen on a minute-by-minute basis and may serve as the substrate for phenomena such as somatosensory attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam B Goldring
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Dylan F Cooke
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Mary K L Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Gregg H Recanzone
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, California; and
| | - Adam G Gordon
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Tingrui Pan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Scott I Simon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Leah Krubitzer
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California; Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California;
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Fabbri S, Strnad L, Caramazza A, Lingnau A. Overlapping representations for grip type and reach direction. Neuroimage 2014; 94:138-146. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2013] [Revised: 02/19/2014] [Accepted: 03/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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Schubotz RI, Wurm MF, Wittmann MK, von Cramon DY. Objects tell us what action we can expect: dissociating brain areas for retrieval and exploitation of action knowledge during action observation in fMRI. Front Psychol 2014; 5:636. [PMID: 25009519 PMCID: PMC4067566 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Objects are reminiscent of actions often performed with them: knife and apple remind us on peeling the apple or cutting it. Mnemonic representations of object-related actions (action codes) evoked by the sight of an object may constrain and hence facilitate recognition of unrolling actions. The present fMRI study investigated if and how action codes influence brain activation during action observation. The average number of action codes (NAC) of 51 sets of objects was rated by a group of n = 24 participants. In an fMRI study, different volunteers were asked to recognize actions performed with the same objects presented in short videos. To disentangle areas reflecting the storage of action codes from those exploiting them, we showed object-compatible and object-incompatible (pantomime) actions. Areas storing action codes were considered to positively co-vary with NAC in both object-compatible and object-incompatible action; due to its role in tool-related tasks, we here hypothesized left anterior inferior parietal cortex (aIPL). In contrast, areas exploiting action codes were expected to show this correlation only in object-compatible but not incompatible action, as only object-compatible actions match one of the active action codes. For this interaction, we hypothesized ventrolateral premotor cortex (PMv) to join aIPL due to its role in biasing competition in IPL. We found left anterior intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) to co-vary with NAC. In addition to these areas, action codes increased activity in object-compatible action in bilateral PMv, right IPS, and lateral occipital cortex (LO). Findings suggest that during action observation, the brain derives possible actions from perceived objects, and uses this information to shape action recognition. In particular, the number of expectable actions quantifies the activity level at PMv, IPL, and pMTG, but only PMv reflects their biased competition while observed action unfolds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricarda I Schubotz
- Institute for Psychology, University of Münster Münster, Germany ; Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research Cologne, Germany ; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne Köln, Germany
| | - Moritz F Wurm
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento Mattarello, Italy
| | - Marco K Wittmann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
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Burman KJ, Bakola S, Richardson KE, Reser DH, Rosa MGP. Patterns of afferent input to the caudal and rostral areas of the dorsal premotor cortex (6DC and 6DR) in the marmoset monkey. J Comp Neurol 2014; 522:3683-716. [PMID: 24888737 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2013] [Revised: 04/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Corticocortical projections to the caudal and rostral areas of dorsal premotor cortex (6DC and 6DR, also known as F2 and F7) were studied in the marmoset monkey. Both areas received their main thalamic inputs from the ventral anterior and ventral lateral complexes, and received dense projections from the medial premotor cortex. However, there were marked differences in their connections with other cortical areas. While 6DR received consistent inputs from prefrontal cortex, area 6DC received few such connections. Conversely, 6DC, but not 6DR, received major projections from the primary motor and somatosensory areas. Projections from the anterior cingulate cortex preferentially targeted 6DC, while the posterior cingulate and adjacent medial wall areas preferentially targeted 6DR. Projections from the medial parietal area PE to 6DC were particularly dense, while intraparietal areas (especially the putative homolog of LIP) were more strongly labeled after 6DR injections. Finally, 6DC and 6DR were distinct in terms of inputs from the ventral parietal cortex: projections to 6DR originated preferentially from caudal areas (PG and OPt), while 6DC received input primarily from rostral areas (PF and PFG). Differences in connections suggest that area 6DR includes rostral and caudal subdivisions, with the former also involved in oculomotor control. These results suggest that area 6DC is more directly involved in the preparation and execution of motor acts, while area 6DR integrates sensory and internally driven inputs for the planning of goal-directed actions. They also provide strong evidence of a homologous organization of the dorsal premotor cortex in New and Old World monkeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen J Burman
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
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Coudé G, Vanderwert RE, Thorpe S, Festante F, Bimbi M, Fox NA, Ferrari PF. Frequency and topography in monkey electroencephalogram during action observation: possible neural correlates of the mirror neuron system. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2014; 369:20130415. [PMID: 24778383 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The observation of actions executed by others results in desynchronization of electroencephalogram (EEG) in the alpha and beta frequency bands recorded from the central regions in humans. On the other hand, mirror neurons, which are thought to be responsible for this effect, have been studied only in macaque monkeys, using single-cell recordings. Here, as a first step in a research programme aimed at understanding the parallels between human and monkey mirror neuron systems (MNS), we recorded EEG from the scalp of two monkeys during action observation. The monkeys were trained to fixate on the face of a human agent and subsequently to fixate on a target upon which the agent performed a grasping action. We found that action observation produced desynchronization in the 19-25 Hz band that was strongest over anterior and central electrodes. These results are in line with human data showing that specific frequency bands within the power spectrum of the ongoing EEG may be modulated by observation of actions and therefore might be a specific marker of MNS activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Coudé
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, , Parma, Italy
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Teixeira S, Machado S, Velasques B, Sanfim A, Minc D, Peressutti C, Bittencourt J, Budde H, Cagy M, Anghinah R, Basile LF, Piedade R, Ribeiro P, Diniz C, Cartier C, Gongora M, Silva F, Manaia F, Silva JG. Integrative parietal cortex processes: Neurological and psychiatric aspects. J Neurol Sci 2014; 338:12-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2013.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2013] [Revised: 12/12/2013] [Accepted: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Karl JM, Whishaw IQ. Different evolutionary origins for the reach and the grasp: an explanation for dual visuomotor channels in primate parietofrontal cortex. Front Neurol 2013; 4:208. [PMID: 24391626 PMCID: PMC3870330 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2013.00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2013] [Accepted: 12/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Dual Visuomotor Channel Theory proposes that manual prehension consists of two temporally integrated movements, each subserved by distinct visuomotor pathways in occipitoparietofrontal cortex. The Reach is mediated by a dorsomedial pathway and transports the hand in relation to the target's extrinsic properties (i.e., location and orientation). The Grasp is mediated by a dorsolateral pathway and opens, preshapes, and closes the hand in relation to the target's intrinsic properties (i.e., size and shape). Here, neuropsychological, developmental, and comparative evidence is reviewed to show that the Reach and the Grasp have different evolutionary origins. First, the removal or degradation of vision causes prehension to decompose into its constituent Reach and Grasp components, which are then executed in sequence or isolation. Similar decomposition occurs in optic ataxic patients following cortical injury to the Reach and the Grasp pathways and after corticospinal tract lesions in non-human primates. Second, early non-visual PreReach and PreGrasp movements develop into mature Reach and Grasp movements but are only integrated under visual control after a prolonged developmental period. Third, comparative studies reveal many similarities between stepping movements and the Reach and between food handling movements and the Grasp, suggesting that the Reach and the Grasp are derived from different evolutionary antecedents. The evidence is discussed in relation to the ideas that dual visuomotor channels in primate parietofrontal cortex emerged as a result of distinct evolutionary origins for the Reach and the Grasp; that foveated vision in primates serves to integrate the Reach and the Grasp into a single prehensile act; and, that flexible recombination of discrete Reach and Grasp movements under various forms of sensory and cognitive control can produce adaptive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenni M. Karl
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Ian Q. Whishaw
- Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
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