The role of ventral premotor cortex in eye and head movements

摘要 腹侧前运动皮层（PMv）在协调运动的控制中起着重要的作用。 PMv的长时间微刺激引起复杂的定向和回避运动（Cooke & Graziano，2004; Graziano，Taylor，&摩尔，2002）。这种目标导向的定向行为通常包含 眼睛和头部的运动。Billig和Strick最近一项未发表的解剖学研究表明， PMv可能通过不包括其他途径的途径对颈部和眼部肌肉施加影响。 皮质区（Billig & Strick，2012）。这些途径的存在和先前提到的 微刺激效应强烈表明PMv在注视转移中起作用。我建议将PMV的特征 使用神经记录和长时间微刺激协调头部和眼睛运动的作用 技术.恒河猴将被训练使用头戴式微型激光器， 在产生视线转移之前，控制初始头在空间中的位置，并因此控制头中眼的旋转 （Gandhi & Sparks，2001年）。动物将执行目标导向以及恒定幅度的凝视转移 根据上下文的不同，朝向或远离刺激物。定向和回避行为将通过以下方式进行评估： 比较注视移向奖励对象或远离厌恶刺激。我假设神经活动 对凝视转移的运动学和意图进行编码。以目标为导向的目光转移在 我们与环境互动。对这些行为背后的神经基质的充分理解将允许 我们可以有效地治疗任何缺陷的视线转移，可能发生的伤害或疾病。

ABSTRACT The ventral premotor cortex (PMv) plays a significant role in the control of coordinated movements. Long duration microstimulation of PMv evokes complex orienting and avoidance movements (Cooke & Graziano, 2004; Graziano, Taylor, & Moore, 2002). Such goal directed orienting behaviors often incorporate a movement of the eyes and the head. A recent unpublished anatomical study by Billig and Strick shows that PMv may exert influence over the muscles of the neck and the eye through pathways that do not include other cortical areas (Billig & Strick, 2012). Presence of these pathways and the previously mentioned microstimulation effects strongly suggest that PMv plays a role in gaze shifts. I propose to characterize PMv’s role in coordinating head and eye movements using neural recordings and long duration microstimulation techniques. Rhesus monkeys will be trained to use a head-mounted miniature laser that experimentally controls initial head-in-space position, and consequently eye-in-head rotation, before generation of gaze shifts (Gandhi & Sparks, 2001). The animals will perform goal-directed as well as constant amplitude gaze shifts towards or away from stimuli based on context. Orienting and avoidance behavior will be assessed by comparing gaze shifts toward rewarding objects or away from aversive stimuli. I hypothesize that neural activity encodes both kinematics and the intent of the gaze shift. Goal-directed gaze shifts play a key part in the way we interact with our environment. Full understanding of the neural substrate behind these behaviors will allow us to effectively treat any deficits in gaze shifts that may occur from injuries or disorders.