Activity of Premotor Cortex Neurons During Two Dimensional Movements

运动前皮层是大脑皮层的主要区域之一，被认为与运动行为的许多方面有关。一种观点是它在运动技能的学习中起作用。病变研究表明，从记忆中回忆运动有缺陷。其他研究表明，这部分皮层参与了运动准备。蒂莫西·埃伯纳博士认为，这个大脑区域与肢体或手在自愿运动时的准备和视觉引导有关，这些运动涉及到可到达的额外个人空间的各个区域。他的工作是在这种假设下进行的。在训练灵长类动物在水平面上自主运动时，需要视觉引导光标进入目标区域，运动前皮层单个神经元的放电将被记录下来。将研究与复杂运动有关的细胞活动的四个方面。首先，在二维空间中定义细胞在到达运动过程中被调制的区域。其次，将讨论运动前皮质神经元放电模式与运动运动学之间的关系。第三，将评估运动前皮层神经元对运动表现和纠正运动中的“错误”的反应。第四，将确定在适应运动以匹配外部暴露约束的过程中单个细胞的放电如何变化。总的来说，这些研究将确定在运动前皮层中表现出二维视觉引导运动的哪些特征。

The premotor cortex, one of the major areas of the cerebral cortex is suggested to be involved in numerous aspects of motor behavior. One idea is that it has a role in the learning of motor skills. Lesions studies suggest deficits in recalling movements from memory. Other studies show the involvement of this part of the cortex in movement preparation. Dr. Timothy Ebner believes this brain area is concerned with the preparation and visual guidance of the limbs or hands during voluntary movements into various regions of reachable extra personal space. His work proceeds under that hypothesis. In primates trained to make voluntary movements in the horizontal plane which require visually guiding a cursor into target zones, the discharge of single neurons in the premotor cortex will be recorded. Four aspects of the cell's activity in relation to complex movements will be studied. First, is to define the region within two dimensional space in which a cell is modulated during reaching movements. Second, the relationship between the discharge pattern of premotor cortical neurons and movement kinematics will be addressed. Third, the responsiveness of premotor cortex neurons to "errors" in motor performance and corrective movement will be evaluated. Fourth, how the discharge of single cells change in the process of adapting a movement to match externally exposed constraints will be determined. Overall, these studies will define which features of two dimensional, visually guided movements are represented in the premotor cortex.