ENCODING MOVEMENT KINEMATICS IN THE PREMOTOR CORTEX

描述(改编自申请人的摘要)：心理生理， 解剖学、电生理学和损伤研究支持这一假说 背侧促进器皮质(PMD)在 将视觉信息转换为运动指令。一个更具体的 这一假设的提法是PMD负责 视觉(或其他感官刺激)信息的非标准映射 运动指令，也就是当指导一个动作的刺激不是 操作的目标。使用慢性单一单位记录研究 作为灵长类动物，提出了四个特定的目标来测试特定的 PMD神经元放电如何编码和转换的假说 将视觉空间信息转化为运动。 第一个特定的目标是检验这样一个假设，即细胞的运动轨迹 方向调谐代表了PMD神经元在 并且该轨迹与复数无关 视觉空间刺激。PMD神经元的放电将在一个 线索周期内目标运动模仿时的追踪跟踪任务 细胞的首选方向轨迹以及当方向和速度 线索中呈现的信息的一部分与方向分离 以及即将到来的运动的速度。 第二个特定目的是测试假设，即 提示期中的定向调整提供了一种机制来映射视觉 刺激在一个方向呈现为在另一个方向产生的运动 方向。PMD单元的定向调谐将在 当动物执行视觉运动重定向时的追踪任务 任务。 第三个特定目标验证了这样的假设，即方向和 当动物的PMD细胞放电的速度编码被修改时 学习一种新的视觉运动映射。PMD放电将在之前和 在需要动物映射的视觉运动变换之后 视觉空间刺激进入新动作的方向和速度 方向或移动速度。 第四个具体目标检验了时间顺序和时间顺序的假设 PMD电池放电中的特定参数的编码依赖于 在手臂运动过程中呈现的视觉运动信息的时序。 PMD神经元将以1)操纵信息的范式进行研究 关于即将到来的运动的方向和幅度，以及2)操纵 有关运动方向和速度的信息。 总体而言，这些研究将提供对脑内神经机制的洞察。 将视觉空间信息映射为运动的PMD。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from applicant's abstract): Psychophysical, anatomical, electrophysiological, and lesion studies support the hypothesis that the dorsal promotor cortex (PMd) plays an important role in the transformation of visual information into motor commands. A more specific formulation of this hypothesis is that the PMd is responsible for non-standard mapping of visual (or other sensory stimuli) information into motor commands, that is, when the stimulus guiding an action is not the target of the action. Using chronic single unit recording studies in behaving primates, four Specific Aims are proposed to test specific hypotheses on how the discharge of PMd neurons encodes and transforms visuospatial information into movements. The first Specific Aim tests the hypothesis that the trajectory of a cell's directional tuning represents an optimal stimulus for a PMd neuron during the cue period and that this trajectory is independent of complex visuospatial stimuli. The discharge of PMd neurons will be studied during a pursuit tracking task when the target movement during the cue period mimics a cell's preferred direction trajectory and when the direction and velocity of the information presented in the cue are dissociated from the direction and velocity of the upcoming movement. The second specific aim tests the hypothesis that the properties of the directional tuning in the cue period provide a mechanism to map a visual stimulus presented in one direction into a movement made in another direction. The directional tuning of PMd cells will be evaluated during a pursuit tracking task when the animal performs a visuomotor redirection task. The third specific aim tests the hypothesis that the directional and velocity coding in the discharge of PMd cells is modified when the animal learns a new visuomotor mapping. PMd discharge will be evaluated before and after visuomotor transformations that require the animal to map the direction and velocity of visuospatial stimuli into novel movement directions or movement velocities. The fourth specific aim tests the hypothesis that the temporal ordering and encoding of specific parameters in the discharge of PMd cells is dependent on the timing of the visuomotor information presented during arm movements. PMd neurons will be studied in paradigms that 1) manipulate the information about the direction and amplitude of the upcoming movement and 2) manipulate the information about the direction and velocity of the movement. Overall, these studies will provide insights into the neuronal mechanisms in the PMd underlying the mapping of visuospatial information into movements.