Role of primate substantia nigra pars reticulata in reward-oriented saccadic eye movement

Neuronal reference frames for social decisions in primate frontal cortex

Social decisions are crucial for the success of individuals and the groups that they comprise. Group members respond vicariously to benefits obtained by others, and impairments in this capacity contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and sociopathy. We examined the manner in which neurons in three frontal cortical areas encoded the outcomes of social decisions as monkeys performed a reward-allocation task. Neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) predominantly encoded rewards that were delivered to oneself. Neurons in the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg) encoded reward allocations to the other monkey, to oneself or to both. Neurons in the anterior cingulate sulcus (ACCs) signaled reward allocations to the other monkey or to no one. In this network of received (OFC) and foregone (ACCs) reward signaling, ACCg emerged as an important nexus for the computation of shared experience and social reward. Individual and species-specific variations in social decision-making might result from the relative activation and influence of these areas.

The primate ventral pallidum encodes expected reward value and regulates motor action

Motor actions are facilitated when expected reward value is high. It is hypothesized that there are neurons that encode expected reward values to modulate impending actions and potentially represent motivation signals. Here, we present evidence suggesting that the ventral pallidum (VP) may participate in this process. We recorded single neuronal activity in the monkey VP using a saccade task with a direction-dependent reward bias. Depending on the amount of the expected reward, VP neurons increased or decreased their activity tonically until the reward was delivered, for both ipsiversive and contraversive saccades. Changes in expected reward values were also associated with changes in saccade performance (latency and velocity). Furthermore, bilateral muscimol-induced inactivation of the VP abolished the reward-dependent changes in saccade latencies. These data suggest that the VP provides expected reward value signals that are used to facilitate or inhibit motor actions.

Evolution of the basal ganglia: dual-output pathways conserved throughout vertebrate phylogeny

The basal ganglia, including the striatum, globus pallidus interna and externa (GPe), subthalamic nucleus (STN), and substantia nigra pars compacta, are conserved throughout vertebrate phylogeny and have been suggested to form a common vertebrate mechanism for action selection. In mammals, this circuitry is further elaborated by the presence of a dual-output nucleus, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), and the presence of modulatory input from the cholinergic pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN). We sought to determine whether these additional components of the mammalian basal ganglia are also present in one of the phylogenetically oldest vertebrates, the lamprey. We show, by using immunohistochemistry, tract tracing, and whole-cell recordings, that homologs of the SNr and PPN are present in the lamprey. Thus the SNr receives direct projections from inwardly rectifying γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic striatal neurons expressing substance P, but it is also influenced by indirect basal ganglia projections from the STN and potentially the GPe. Moreover, GABAergic SNr projection neurons are tonically active and project to the thalamus and brainstem motor areas. The homolog of the PPN contains both cholinergic and GABAergic neurons and is connected with all the nuclei of the basal ganglia, supporting its proposed role as part of an extended basal ganglia. A separate group of cholinergic neurons dorsal to the PPN corresponds to the descending mesencephalic locomotor region. Our results suggest that dual-output nuclei are part of the ancestral basal ganglia and that the PPN appears to have coevolved as part of a mechanism for action selection common to all vertebrates.

Probing basal ganglia functions by saccade eye movements

The basal ganglia (BG) are a group of subcortical structures involved in diverse functions, such as motor, cognition and emotion. However, the BG do not control these functions directly, but rather modulate functional processes occurring in structures outside the BG. The BG form multiple functional loops, each of which controls different functions with similar architectures. Accordingly, to understand the modulatory role of the BG, it is strategic to uncover the mechanisms of signal processing within specific functional loops that control simple neural circuits outside the BG, and then extend the knowledge to other BG loops. The saccade control system is one of the best-understood neural circuits in the brain. Furthermore, sophisticated saccade paradigms have been used extensively in clinical research in patients with BG disorders as well as in basic research in behaving monkeys. In this review, we describe recent advances of BG research from the viewpoint of saccade control. Specifically, we account for experimental results from neuroimaging and clinical studies in humans based on the updated knowledge of BG functions derived from neurophysiological experiments in behaving monkeys by taking advantage of homologies in saccade behavior. It has become clear that the traditional BG network model for saccade control is too limited to account for recent evidence emerging from the roles of subcortical nuclei not incorporated in the model. Here, we extend the traditional model and propose a new hypothetical framework to facilitate clinical and basic BG research and dialogue in the future.

Cortico-basal ganglia mechanisms for overcoming innate, habitual and motivational behaviors

Most of the human behaviors are executed automatically under familiar circumstances. These behaviors are prepotent in that they take precedence over any other potential alternatives. Yet, humans are also capable of engaging cognitive resources to inhibit such a prepotent behavior and replace it with an alternative controlled behavior in response to an unforeseen situation. This remarkable capability to switch behaviors in a short period of time is the hallmark of executive functions. In this article, we first argue that the prepotent automaticity could emerge at least in three different domains - innate, habitual and motivational. We then review neurophysiological findings on how the brain might realize its switching functions in each domain, primarily by focusing on the monkey oculomotor system as the experimental model. Emerging evidence now suggests that multiple neuronal populations in the shared cortico-basal ganglia network contribute to overriding prepotent eye movement, be its origin innate, habitual or motivational. This consideration suggests the general versatility of the cortico-basal ganglia network as the neural mechanism whereby humans and other animals keep themselves from becoming subservient to reflex, habit and motivational impulses.

Physiological evidence for a trans-basal ganglia pathway linking extrastriate visual cortex and the superior colliculus

Visually responsive regions along the cat's lateral suprasylvian (LS) sulcus provide excitatory inputs to the deep layers of the superior colliculus (SC). It is via this direct cortico-collicular route that LS cortex is thought to enhance the visual activity of SC output neurons and thereby facilitate SC-mediated orientation behaviours. However, it has long been suggested that LS also might influence the SC via an 'indirect' route through the basal ganglia. Such a multi-synaptic route would ultimately modulate SC activity via basal ganglia output neurons in substantia nigra, pars reticulata. Using cortical electrical stimulation, the present experiments in the anaesthetized cat provide a physiological confirmation of this indirect route. Moreover, the patterns of activity evoked in antidromically identified nigro-collicular neurons indicate the involvement of multiple trans-basal ganglia pathways. The most complex evoked patterns consisted of a variable period of inhibition preceded and followed by periods of excitation. Although many neurons displayed only components of this triphasic response, these electrically evoked responses generally matched the characteristics of their responses to natural visual stimuli. Cortical stimulation evoked excitation in all of crossed nigro-collicular neurons and inhibition in the majority of uncrossed nigro-collicular neurons. These data suggest that LS activity accesses multiple trans-basal ganglia circuits that shape nigro-collicular responses that are appropriate for their SC targets. In this way, visual stimuli in one hemifield can be selected as targets for SC-mediated orientation, while simultaneously inhibiting activity in the opposite SC that might generate responses to competing targets.

Reinforcing saccadic amplitude variability

Saccadic endpoint variability is often viewed as the outcome of neural noise occurring during sensorimotor processing. However, part of this variability might result from operant learning. We tested this hypothesis by reinforcing dispersions of saccadic amplitude distributions, while maintaining constant their medians. In a first experiment we reinforced the least frequent saccadic amplitudes to increase variability, and then reinforced the central part of the amplitude distributions to reduce variability. The target was placed at a constant distance from the fovea after the saccade to maintain the postsaccadic visual signal constant and an auditory reinforcement was delivered depending on saccadic amplitude. The second experiment tested the effects of the contingency. We reinforced high levels of variability in 4 participants, whereas 4 other participants were assigned to a yoked control group. On average, saccadic amplitude standard deviations were doubled while the medians remained mostly unchanged in the experimental participants in both experiments, and variability returned to baseline level when low variability was reinforced. In the control group no consistent changes in amplitude distributions were observed. These results, showing that variability can be reinforced, challenge the idea of a stochastic neural noise. We instead propose that selection processes constrain saccadic amplitude distributions.

Flexible interpretation of a decision rule by supplementary eye field neurons

Since the environment is in constant flux, decision-making capabilities of the brain must be rapid and flexible. Yet in sensory motion processing pathways of the primate brain where decision making has been extensively studied, the flexibility of neurons is limited by inherent selectivity to motion direction and speed. The supplementary eye field (SEF), an area involved in decision making on moving stimuli, is not strictly a sensory or motor structure, and hence may not suffer such limitations. Here we test whether neurons in the SEF can flexibly interpret the rule of a go/nogo task when the decision boundary in the task changes with each trial. The task rule specified that the animal pursue a moving target with its eyes if and when the target entered a visible zone. The size of the zone was changed from trial to trial in order to shift the decision boundary, and thereby assign different go/nogo significance to the same motion trajectories. Individual SEF neurons interpreted the rule appropriately, signaling go or nogo in compliance with the rule and not the direction of motion. The results provide the first evidence that individual neurons in frontal cortex can flexibly interpret a rule that governs the decision to act.

Exploring the role of the substantia nigra pars reticulata in eye movements

Experiments that demonstrated a role for the substantia nigra in eye movements have played an important role in our understanding of the function of the basal ganglia in behavior more broadly. In this review we explore more recent experiments that extend the role of the substantia nigra pars reticulata from a simple gate for eye movements to include a role in cognitive processes for eye movements. We review recent evidence suggesting that basal ganglia nuclei beyond the substantia nigra may also play a role in eye movements and the cognitive events leading up to the production of eye movements. We close by pointing out some unresolved questions in our understanding of the relationship of basal ganglia nuclei and eye movements.

Modeling the role of basal ganglia in saccade generation: is the indirect pathway the explorer?

We model the role played by the Basal Ganglia (BG) in the generation of voluntary saccadic eye movements. The BG model explicitly represents key nuclei like the striatum (caudate), Substantia Nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and compata (SNc), the Subthalamic Nucleus (STN), the two pallidal nuclei and Superior Colliculus. The model is cast within the Reinforcement Learning (RL) framework, with the dopamine representing the temporal difference error, the striatum serving as the critic, and the indirect pathway playing the role of the explorer. Performance of the model is evaluated on a set of tasks such as feature and conjunction searches, directional selectivity and a successive saccade task. Behavioral phenomena such as independence of search time on number of distractors in feature search and linear increase in search time with number of distractors in conjunction search are observed. It is also seen that saccadic reaction times are longer and search efficiency is impaired on diminished BG contribution, which corroborates with reported data obtained from Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients.

Impact of expected value on neural activity in rat substantia nigra pars reticulata

The substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) is thought to serve as the output of the basal ganglia, whereby associative information from striatum influences behavior via disinhibition of downstream motor areas to motivate behavior. Unfortunately, few studies have examined activity in SNr in rats making decisions based on the value of predicted reward similar to those conducted in primates. To fill this void, we recorded from single neurons in SNr while rats performed a choice task in which different odor cues indicated what reward was available on the left or on the right. The value of reward associated with a leftward or rightward movement was manipulated by varying the size of and delay to reward in separate blocks of trials. Rats were faster or slower depending on whether the expected reward value was high or low, respectively. The number of neurons that increased firing during performance of the task outnumbered those that decreased firing. Both increases and decreases were modulated by expected value and response direction. Neurons that fired more or less strongly for larger reward tended to fire, respectively, more or less strongly for immediate reward, reflecting their common motivational output. Finally, value selectivity was present prior to presentation of cues indicating the nature of the upcoming behavioral response for both increasing- and decreasing-type neurons, reflecting the internal bias or preparatory set of the rat. These results emphasize the importance of increasing-type neurons on behavioral output when animals are making decisions based on predicted reward value.

The anatomy and physiology of the ocular motor system

Accurate diagnosis of abnormal eye movements depends upon knowledge of the purpose, properties, and neural substrate of distinct functional classes of eye movement. Here, we summarize current concepts of the anatomy of eye movement control. Our approach is bottom-up, starting with the extraocular muscles and their innervation by the cranial nerves. Second, we summarize the neural circuits in the pons underlying horizontal gaze control, and the midbrain connections that coordinate vertical and torsional movements. Third, the role of the cerebellum in governing and optimizing eye movements is presented. Fourth, each area of cerebral cortex contributing to eye movements is discussed. Last, descending projections from cerebral cortex, including basal ganglionic circuits that govern different components of gaze, and the superior colliculus, are summarized. At each stage of this review, the anatomical scheme is used to predict the effects of lesions on the control of eye movements, providing clinical-anatomical correlation.

A transient receptor potential channel regulates basal ganglia output

The substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) is a key basal ganglia output nucleus critical for movement control. A hallmark of the SNr gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing projection neurons is their depolarized membrane potential, accompanied by rapid spontaneous spikes. Parkinsonian movement disorders are often associated with abnormalities in SNr GABA neuron firing intensity and/or pattern. A fundamental question is the molecular identity of the ion channels that drive these neurons to a depolarized membrane potential. Recent data show that SNr GABA projection neurons selectively express type 3 canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC3) channels. Such channels are tonically active and mediate an inward, Na(+)-dependent current, leading to a substantial depolarization and ensuring appropriate firing intensity and pattern in SNr GABA projection neurons. Equally important, TRPC3 channels in SNr GABA neurons are up-regulated by dopamine (DA) released from neighboring nigral DA neuron dendrites. Co-activation of D1 and D5 DA receptors leads to a TRPC3 channel-mediated inward current and increased firing in SNr GABA neurons, whereas D1-like receptor blockade reduces SNr GABA neuron firing frequency and increases their firing irregularity. TRPC3 channels serve as the effector channels mediating an ultra-short SNc-->SNr DA pathway that regulates the firing intensity and pattern of the basal ganglia output neurons.

Saccade reaction times are influenced by caudate microstimulation following and prior to visual stimulus appearance

Several cognitive models suggest that saccade RTs are controlled flexibly not only by mechanisms that accumulate sensory evidence after the appearance of a sensory stimulus (poststimulus mechanisms) but also by mechanisms that preset the saccade control system before the sensory event (prestimulus mechanisms). Consistent with model predictions, neurons in structures tightly related to saccade initiation, such as the superior colliculus and FEF, have poststimulus and prestimulus activities correlated with RTs. It has been hypothesized that the BG influence the saccade initiation process by controlling both poststimulus and prestimulus activities of superior colliculus and FEF neurons. To examine this hypothesis directly, we delivered electrical microstimulation to the caudate nucleus, the input stage of the oculomotor BG, while monkeys performed a prosaccade (look toward a visual stimulus) and antisaccade (look away from the stimulus) paradigm. Microstimulation applied after stimulus appearance (poststimulus microstimulation) prolonged RTs regardless of saccade directions (contra/ipsi) or task instructions (pro/anti). In contrast, microstimulation applied before stimulus appearance (prestimulus microstimulation) shortened RTs, although the effects were limited to several task conditions. The analysis of RT distributions using the linear approach to threshold with ergodic rate model revealed that poststimulus microstimulation prolonged RTs by reducing the rate of rise to the threshold for saccade initiation, whereas fitting results for prestimulus microstimulation were inconsistent across different task conditions. We conclude that both poststimulus and prestimulus activities of caudate neurons are sufficient to control saccade RTs.

Activity of neurons in monkey globus pallidus during oculomotor behavior compared with that in substantia nigra pars reticulata

The basal ganglia are a subcortical assembly of nuclei involved in many aspects of behavior. Three of the nuclei have high firing rates and inhibitory influences: the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), globus pallidus interna (GPi), and globus pallidus externa (GPe). The SNr contains a wide range of visual, cognitive, and motor signals that have been shown to contribute to saccadic eye movements. Our hypothesis was that GPe and GPi neurons carry similarly diverse signals during saccadic behavior. We recorded from GPe, GPi, and SNr neurons in monkeys that made memory-guided saccades and found that neurons in all three structures had increases or decreases in activity synchronized with saccade generation, visual stimulation, or reward. Comparing GPe neurons with GPi neurons, we found relatively more visual-related activity in GPe and more reward-related activity in GPi. Comparing both pallidal samples with the SNr, we found a greater resemblance between GPe and SNr neurons than that between GPi and SNr neurons. As expected from a known inhibitory projection from GPe to SNr, there was a general reversal of sign in activity modulations between the structures: bursts of activity were relatively more common in GPe and pauses more common in SNr. We analyzed the response fields of neurons in all three structures and found relatively narrow and lateralized fields early in trials (during visual and saccadic events) followed by a broadening later in trials (during reward). Our data reinforce an emerging, new consensus that the GPe and GPi, in addition to the SNr, contribute to oculomotor behavior.

How moving visual stimuli modulate the activity of the substantia nigra pars reticulata

The orientation of spatial attention via saccades is modulated by a pathway from the substantia nigra pars reticularis (SNr) to the superior colliculus, which enhances the ability to respond to novel stimuli. However, the algorithm whereby the SNr translates visual input to saccade-related information is still unknown. We recorded extracellular single-unit responses of 343 SNr cells to visual stimuli in anesthetized cats. Depending on the size, velocity and direction of the visual stimulus, SNr neurons responded by either increasing or decreasing their firing rate. Using artificial neuronal networks, visual SNr neurons could be classified into distinct groups. Some of the units showed a clear preference for one specific combination of direction and velocity (simple neurons), while other SNr neurons were sensitive to the direction (direction-tuned neurons) or the velocity (velocity-tuned neurons) of the movement. Furthermore, a subset of SNr neurons exhibited a narrow inhibitory/excitatory domain in the velocity/direction plane with an opposing surround (concentric neurons). According to our results, spatiotemporally represented visual information may determine the discharge pattern of the SNr. We suggest that the SNr utilizes spatiotemporal properties of the visual information to generate vector-based commands, which could modulate the activity of the superior colliculus and enhance or inhibit the reflexive initiation of complex and accurate saccades.

Encoding of probabilistic rewarding and aversive events by pallidal and nigral neurons

Previous studies have rarely tested whether the activity of high-frequency discharge (HFD) neurons of the basal ganglia (BG) is modulated by expectation, delivery, and omission of aversive events. Therefore the full value domain encoded by the BG network is still unknown. We studied the activity of HFD neurons of the globus pallidus external segment (GPe, n=310), internal segment (GPi, n=149), and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr, n=145) in two monkeys during a classical conditioning task with cues predicting the probability of food, neutral, or airpuff outcomes. The responses of BG HFD neurons were long-lasting and diverse with coincident increases and decreases in discharge rate. The population responses to reward-related events were larger than the responses to aversive and neutral-related events. The latter responses were similar, except for the responses to actual airpuff delivery. The fraction of responding cells was larger for reward-related events, with better discrimination between rewarding and aversive trials in the responses with an increase rather than a decrease in discharge rate. GPe and GPi single units were more strongly modulated and better reflected the probability of reward- than aversive-related events. SNr neurons were less biased toward the encoding of the rewarding events, especially during the outcome epoch. Finally, the latency of SNr responses to all predictive cues was shorter than the latency of pallidal responses. These results suggest preferential activation of the BG HFD neurons by rewarding compared with aversive events.

Balance of increases and decreases in firing rate of the spontaneous activity of basal ganglia high-frequency discharge neurons

Most neurons in the external and internal segments of the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra pars reticulata (GPe, GPi, and SNr) are characterized by a high-frequency discharge (HFD) rate (50-80 Hz) that, in most GPe neurons, is also interrupted by pauses. Almost all (approximately 90%) of the synaptic inputs to these HFD neurons are GABAergic and inhibitory. Nevertheless, their responses to behavioral events are usually dominated by increases in discharge rate. Additionally, there are no reports of prolonged bursts in the spontaneous activity of these cells that could reflect their disinhibition by GPe pauses. We recorded the spontaneous activity of 385 GPe, GPi, and SNr HFD neurons during a quiet-wakeful state from two monkeys. We developed three complementary methods to quantify the balance of increases and decreases in the spontaneous discharge of HFD neurons and validated them by simulations. Unlike the behavioral evoked responses, the spontaneous activity of pallidal and SNr neurons is not dominated by increases. Moreover, the activity of basal ganglia neurons does not include bursts that could reflect disinhibition by the spontaneous pauses of GPe neurons. These findings suggest that the discharge increase/decrease balance during a quiet-wakeful state better reflects the inhibitory input of the HFD basal ganglia neurons than during responses to behavioral events; however, the GPe pauses are not echoed by comparable bursts either in the GPe or in the output nuclei. Changes in the excitatory drive of these structures (e.g., during behavioral activity) thus may lead to a remarkable change in this balance.

Substantia nigra stimulation influences monkey superior colliculus neuronal activity bilaterally

The inhibitory drive arising from the basal ganglia is thought to prevent the occurrence of orienting movements of the eyes, head, and body in monkeys and other mammals. The direct projection from the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) to the superior colliculus (SC) mediates the inhibition. Since the original experiments in the SNr of monkeys the buildup or prelude neuron has been a focus of SC research. However, whether the SNr influences buildup neurons in SC is unknown. Furthermore, a contralateral SNr-SC pathway is evident in many species but remains unexplored in the alert monkey. Here we introduced electrical stimulation of one or both SNr nuclei while recording from SC buildup neurons. Stimulation of the SNr reduced the discharge rate of SC buildup neurons bilaterally. This result is consistent with activation of an inhibitory drive from SNr to SC. The time course of the influence of ipsilateral SNr on the activity of most SC neurons was longer (approximately 73 ms) than the influence of the contralateral SNr (approximately 34 ms). We also found that the variability of saccade onset time and saccade direction was altered with electrical stimulation of the SNr. Taken together our results show that electrical stimulation activates the inhibitory output of the SNr that in turn, reduces the activity of SC buildup neurons in both hemispheres. However, rather than acting as a gate for saccade initiation, the results suggest that the influence of SNr inhibition on visually guided saccades is more subtle, shaping the balance of excitation and inhibition across the SC.

Subcortical processes of motor response inhibition during a stop signal task

Previous studies have delineated the neural processes of motor response inhibition during a stop signal task, with most reports focusing on the cortical mechanisms. A recent study highlighted the importance of subcortical processes during stop signal inhibition in 13 individuals and suggested that the subthalamic nucleus (STN) may play a role in blocking response execution (Aron and Poldrack, 2006. Cortical and subcortical contributions to Stop signal response inhibition: role of the subthalamic nucleus. J Neurosci 26, 2424-2433). Here in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we replicated the finding of greater activation in the STN during stop (success or error) trials, compared to go trials, in a larger sample of subjects (n=30). However, since a contrast between stop and go trials involved processes that could be distinguished from response inhibition, the role of subthalamic activity during stop signal inhibition remained to be specified. To this end we followed an alternative strategy to isolate the neural correlates of response inhibition (Li et al., 2006a. Imaging response inhibition in a stop signal task--neural correlates independent of signal monitoring and post-response processing. J Neurosci 26, 186-192). We compared individuals with short and long stop signal reaction time (SSRT) as computed by the horse race model. The two groups of subjects did not differ in any other aspects of stop signal performance. We showed greater activity in the short than the long SSRT group in the caudate head during stop successes, as compared to stop errors. Caudate activity was positively correlated with medial prefrontal activity previously shown to mediate stop signal inhibition. Conversely, bilateral thalamic nuclei and other parts of the basal ganglia, including the STN, showed greater activation in subjects with long than short SSRT. Thus, fMRI delineated contrasting roles of the prefrontal-caudate and striato-thalamic activities in mediating motor response inhibition.

Positive and Negative Modulation of Motor Response in Primate Superior Colliculus by Reward Expectation

Expectation of reward is crucial for goal-directed behavior of animals. However, little is known about how reward information is used in the brain at the time of action. We investigated this question by recording from single neurons in the macaque superior colliculus (SC) while the animal was performing a memory-guided saccade task with an asymmetrical reward schedule. The SC is an ideal structure to ask this question because it receives inputs from many brain areas including the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia where reward information is thought to be encoded and sends motor commands to the brain stem saccade generators. We found two groups of SC neurons that encoded reward information in the presaccadic period: positive reward-coding neurons that showed higher activity when reward was expected and negative reward-coding neurons that showed higher activity when reward was not expected. The positive reward-coding usually started even before a cue for target position was presented, whereas the negative reward-coding was largely restricted to the presaccadic period. The two kinds of reward-coding may be useful for the animal to select an appropriate behavior in a complex environment.

Lack of Spike-Count and Spike-Time Correlations in the Substantia Nigra Reticulata Despite Overlap of Neural Responses

Previous studies of single neurons in the substantia nigra reticulata (SNr) have shown that many of them respond to similar events. These results, as well as anatomical studies, suggest that SNr neurons share inputs and thus may have correlated activity. Different types of correlation can exist between pairs of neurons. These are traditionally classified as either spike-count (“signal” and “noise”) or spike-timing (spike-to-spike and joint peristimulus time histograms) correlations. These measures of neuronal correlation are partially independent and have different implications. Our purpose was to probe the computational characteristics of the basal ganglia output nuclei through an analysis of these different types of correlation in the SNr. We carried out simultaneous multiple-electrode single-unit recordings in the SNr of two monkeys performing a probabilistic delayed visuomotor response task. A total of 113 neurons (yielding 355 simultaneously recorded pairs) were studied. Most SNr neurons responded to one or more task-related events, with instruction cue (69%) and reward (63%) predominating. Response-match analysis, comparing peristimulus time histograms, revealed a significant overlap between response vectors. However, no measure of average correlation differed significantly from zero. The lack of significant SNr spike-count population correlations appears to be an exceptional phenomenon in the brain, perhaps indicating unique event-related processing by basal ganglia output neurons to achieve better information transfer. The lack of spike-timing correlations suggests that the basal high-frequency discharge of SNr neurons is not driven by the common inputs and is probably intrinsic.

Basal Ganglia Mechanisms of Reward-Oriented Eye Movement

Expectation of reward facilitates motor behaviors that enable the animal to approach a location in space where the reward is expected. It is now known that the same expectation of reward profoundly modifies sensory, motor, and cognitive information processing in the brain. However, it is still unclear which brain regions are responsible for causing the reward-approaching behavior. One candidate is the dorsal striatum where cortical and dopaminergic inputs converge. We tested this hypothesis by injecting dopamine antagonists into the caudate nucleus (CD) while the monkey was performing a saccade task with a position-dependent asymmetric reward schedule. We previously had shown that: (1) serial GABAergic connections from the CD to the superior colliculus (SC) via the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) exert powerful control over the initiation of saccadic eye movement and (2) these GABAergic neurons encode target position and are strongly influenced by expected reward, while dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) encode only reward-related information. Before injections of dopamine antagonists the latencies of saccades to a given target were shorter when the saccades were followed by a large reward than when they were followed by a small reward. After injections of dopamine D1 receptor antagonist the reward-dependent latency bias became smaller. This was due to an increase in saccade latency on large-reward trials. After injections of D2 antagonist the latency bias became larger, largely due to an increase in saccade latency on small-reward trials. These results indicate that: (1) dopamine-dependent information processing in the CD is necessary for the reward-dependent modulation of saccadic eye movement and (2) D1 and D2 receptors play differential roles depending on the positive and negative reward outcomes.

Context-dependent effects of substantia nigra stimulation on eye movements

In a series of now classic experiments, an output structure of the basal ganglia (BG)--the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr)--was shown to be involved in the generation of saccades made in particular behavioral contexts, such as when memory was required for guidance. Recent electrophysiological experiments, however, call this original hypothesis into question. Here we test the hypothesis that the SNr is involved preferentially in nonvisually guided saccades using electrical stimulation. Monkeys performed visually guided and memory-guided saccades to locations throughout the visual field. On 50% of the trials, electrical stimulation of the SNr occurred. Stimulation of the SNr altered the direction, amplitude, latency, and probability of saccades. Visually guided saccades tended to be rotated toward the field contralateral to the side of stimulation, whereas memory-guided saccades tended to be rotated toward the hemifield ipsilateral to the side of stimulation. Overall, the changes in saccade vector direction were larger for memory-guided than for visually guided saccades. Both memory- and visually guided saccades were hypometric during stimulation trials, but the stimulation preferentially affected the length of memory-guided saccades. Electrical stimulation of the SNr produced decreases in visually guided saccades bilaterally. In contrast, memory-guided saccades often had increases in saccade latency bilaterally. Finally, we found approximately 10% reduction in the probability of memory-guided saccades bilaterally. Visually guided saccade probability was unaltered. Taken together the results are consistent with the hypothesis that SNr primarily influences nonvisually guided saccades. The pattern of stimulation effects suggests that SNr influence is widespread, altering the pattern of activity bilaterally across the superior colliculus map of saccades.

GABAergic output of the basal ganglia

Using GABAergic outputs from the SNr or GP(i), the basal ganglia exert inhibitory control over several motor areas in the brainstem which in turn control the central pattern generators for the basic motor repertoire including eye-head orientation, locomotion, mouth movements, and vocalization. These movements are by default kept suppressed by tonic rapid firing of SNr/GP(i) neurons, but can be released by a selective removal of the tonic inhibition. Derangement of the SNr/GP(i) outputs leads to either an inability to initiate movements (akinesia) or an inability to suppress movements (involuntary movements). Although the spatio-temporal patterns of individual movements are largely innate and fixed, it is essential for survival to select appropriate movements and arrange them in an appropriate order depending on the context, and this is what the basal ganglia presumably do. To achieve such a goal, however, the basal ganglia need to be trained to optimize their outputs with the aid of cortical inputs carrying sensorimotor and cognitive information and dopaminergic inputs carrying reward-related information. The basal ganglia output to the thalamus, which is particularly developed in primates, provides the basal ganglia with an advanced ability to organize behavior by including the motor skill mechanisms in which new movement patterns can be created by practice. To summarize, an essential function of the basal ganglia is to select, sort, and integrate innate movements and learned movements, together with cognitive and emotional mental operations, to achieve purposeful behaviors. Intricate hand-finger movements do not occur in isolation; they are always associated with appropriate motor sets, such as eye-head orientation and posture.

Developmental changes in oculomotor control and working-memory efficiency

In the present study, we examined the developmental changes in the efficiency of saccadic inhibitory control. More specifically, the contribution of age-related changes in working-memory engagement was investigated. We manipulated the efficiency of inhibitory oculomotor control in antisaccade tasks by using fixation-offset conditions, which are supposed to affect inhibitory demands, and by adding increasing working-memory loads to the antisaccade task. In general, in comparison to antisaccade performance of adults, the antisaccade performance of 8-year-old and 12-year-old children was characterized by an increase in direction errors, and/or longer saccadic onset latencies on correct antisaccades. However, this pattern was not altered by the fixation-offset manipulations. In contrast, increased working-memory demands deteriorated 8-year-olds' antisaccade performance unequally as compared to older children and young adults. These findings suggest that - at least in young children - the available functional working-memory capacity is engaged in oculomotor inhibition.

Subthalamic nucleus lesions increase impulsive action and decrease impulsive choice - mediation by enhanced incentive motivation?

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is traditionally thought of as part of a system involved in motor control but recent evidence suggests that it may also play a role in other psychological processes. Here we examined the effects of STN lesions on two measures of impulsivity and found that STN lesions increased 'impulsive action' (produced behavioral disinhibition), as measured by performance on a differential reinforcement of low rates of responding task, but decreased 'impulsive choice' (impulsive decision making), as measured by a delay discounting task. In addition, amphetamine and food restriction increased 'impulsive action' and decreased 'impulsive choice' to a greater extent in STN-lesioned animals than in sham controls. We speculate that these apparently discrepant effects may be because STN lesions enhance the incentive salience assigned to rewards. These findings suggest that the STN may serve as a novel target for the treatment of psychological disorders characterized by deficits in behavioral control, such as drug addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Temporal development of asymmetric reward-induced bias in macaques

Time and expected outcome are two ubiquitous factors contributing to decision-making. However, it is unclear how they interact to influence motor responses. When two differential reward outcomes are expected at the end of a waiting period, behavioral bias is consistently induced, manifested as shorter latencies for motor responses associated with the preferred reward. To examine how this bias develops in time during the waiting period, we manipulated the duration of the waiting period in an asymmetric reward saccade task in monkeys. We found that the bias increases with the duration of waiting period. Surprisingly, the bias resulted from gradual suppression of saccades to nonpreferred targets rather than from facilitation of saccades to preferred targets. These results have important implications on the neural correlates of reward-induced bias.

How best to consider the structure and function of the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus: Evidence from animal studies

This review presents the hypothesis that the best way to consider the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus is by analogy with the substantia nigra. The substantia nigra contains two main compartments: the pars compacta and the pars reticulata. The former contains dopamine neurons that project widely within the basal ganglia while the latter is in receipt of corticostriatal output. Similarly, the PPTg contains the Ch5 acetylcholine containing neurons that project to the thalamus and corticostriatal systems (notably the pars compacta of substantia nigra and the subthalamic nucleus) while the non-cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine are in receipt of corticostriatal output. Assessment of the location, composition and connections of the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus is made to support the hypothesis that it has structural similarities with substantia nigra. Assessment of the motor, sensory and cognitive functions of the pedunculopontine is also made, suggesting functional similarities exist also. Having a clear model of pedunculopontine structure and function is a matter of some importance. It is clearly involved in Parkinson's disease and could potentially be a target for therapeutic intervention. If this is to be realized it will be best to have as clear an understanding as possible of pedunculopontine structure and function in order to maximize positive benefits.

Extended LATER model can account for trial-by-trial variability of both pre- and post-processes

We present a new decision-making model that can account for trial-by-trial variability induced by a process ("pre-process") that occurs before an explicit sensory signal specifying a later motor response. A process after explicit sensory signals, referred to herein as the "post-process", has been investigated by a variety of so-called rise-to-threshold models including the LATER model. The LATER model formulates post-process variability but treats the pre-process as fixed within a block of an experiment. We propose an extension of the LATER model, which we call the extended LATER (ELATER) model, to account for trial-by-trial variability of both pre- and post-processes together. We present the mathematical formulation of the ELATER model and analyze its characteristics, including numerical examples and an example of saccade latency data in reward-manipulated conditions with caudate activity. The ELATER model is useful for investigating decision making by taking account of trial-by-trial variability of both pre- and post-processes.

Cortico–basal ganglia circuit mechanism for a decision threshold in reaction time tasks

Growing evidence from primate neurophysiology and modeling indicates that in reaction time tasks, a perceptual choice is made when the firing rate of a selective cortical neural population reaches a threshold. This raises two questions: what is the neural substrate of the threshold and how can it be adaptively tuned according to behavioral demands? Using a biophysically based network model of spiking neurons, we show that local dynamics in the superior colliculus gives rise to an all-or-none burst response that signals threshold crossing in upstream cortical neurons. Furthermore, the threshold level depends only weakly on the efficacy of the cortico-collicular pathway. In contrast, the threshold and the rate of reward harvest are sensitive to, and hence can be optimally tuned by, the strength of cortico-striatal synapses, which are known to be modifiable by dopamine-dependent plasticity. Our model provides a framework to describe the main computational steps in a reaction time task and suggests that separate brain pathways are critical to the detection and adjustment of a decision threshold.

Neural correlates of reward and attention in macaque area LIP

Saccade reaction times decrease and the frequency of target choices increases with the size of rewards delivered for orienting to a particular visual target. Similarly, increasing rewards for orienting to a visual target enhances neuronal responses in the macaque lateral intraparietal area (LIP), as well as other brain areas. These observations raise several questions. First, are reward-related modulations in neuronal activity in LIP, as well as other areas, spatially specific or more global in nature? Second, to what extent does reward modulation of neuronal activity in area LIP reflect changes in visual rather than motor processing? And third, to what degree are reward-related modulations in LIP activity independent of performance-related modulations thought to reflect changes in attention? Here we show that increasing the size of fluid rewards in blocks reduced saccade reaction times and improved performance in monkeys performing a peripherally-cued saccade task. LIP neurons responded to visual cues spatially segregated from the saccade target, and for many neurons visual responses were systematically modulated by expected reward size. Neuronal responses also were positively correlated with reaction times independent of reward size, consistent with re-orienting of attention to the saccade target. These observations suggest that motivation and attention independently contribute to the strength of sustained visual responses in LIP. Our data thus implicate LIP in the integration of the sensory, motor, and motivational variables that guide orienting.

Basal ganglia orient eyes to reward

Expectation of reward motivates our behaviors and influences our decisions. Indeed, neuronal activity in many brain areas is modulated by expected reward. However, it is still unclear where and how the reward-dependent modulation of neuronal activity occurs and how the reward-modulated signal is transformed into motor outputs. Recent studies suggest an important role of the basal ganglia. Sensorimotor/cognitive activities of neurons in the basal ganglia are strongly modulated by expected reward. Through their abundant outputs to the brain stem motor areas and the thalamocortical circuits, the basal ganglia appear capable of producing body movements based on expected reward. A good behavioral measure to test this hypothesis is saccadic eye movement because its brain stem mechanism has been extensively studied. Studies from our laboratory suggest that the basal ganglia play a key role in guiding the gaze to the location where reward is available. Neurons in the caudate nucleus and the substantia nigra pars reticulata are extremely sensitive to the positional difference in expected reward, which leads to a bias in excitability between the superior colliculi such that the saccade to the to-be-rewarded position occurs more quickly. It is suggested that the reward modulation occurs in the caudate where cortical inputs carrying spatial signals and dopaminergic inputs carrying reward-related signals are integrated. These data support a specific form of reinforcement learning theories, but also suggest further refinement of the theory.

The mammalian superior colliculus: laminar structure and connections

The superior colliculus is a laminated midbrain structure that acts as one of the centers organizing gaze movements. This review will concentrate on sensory and motor inputs to the superior colliculus, on its internal circuitry, and on its connections with other brainstem gaze centers, as well as its extensive outputs to those structures with which it is reciprocally connected. This will be done in the context of its laminar arrangement. Specifically, the superficial layers receive direct retinal input, and are primarily visual sensory in nature. They project upon the visual thalamus and pretectum to influence visual perception. These visual layers also project upon the deeper layers, which are both multimodal, and premotor in nature. Thus, the deep layers receive input from both somatosensory and auditory sources, as well as from the basal ganglia and cerebellum. Sensory, association, and motor areas of cerebral cortex provide another major source of collicular input, particularly in more encephalized species. For example, visual sensory cortex terminates superficially, while the eye fields target the deeper layers. The deeper layers are themselves the source of a major projection by way of the predorsal bundle which contributes collicular target information to the brainstem structures containing gaze-related burst neurons, and the spinal cord and medullary reticular formation regions that produce head turning.

Somatotopy in the basal ganglia: experimental and clinical evidence for segregated sensorimotor channels

Growing experimental and clinical evidence supports the notion that the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops proceed along parallel circuits linking cortical and subcortical regions subserving the processing of sensorimotor, associative and affective tasks. In particular, there is evidence that a strict topographic segregation is maintained during the processing of sensorimotor information flowing from cortical motor areas to the sensorimotor areas of the basal ganglia. The output from the basal ganglia to the motor thalamus, which projects back to neocortical motor areas, is also organized into topographically segregated channels. This high degree of topographic segregation is demonstrated by the presence of a well-defined somatotopic organization in the sensorimotor areas of the basal ganglia. The presence of body maps in the basal ganglia has become clinically relevant with the increasing use of surgical procedures, such as lesioning or deep brain stimulation, which are selectively aimed at restricted subcortical targets in the sensorimotor loop such as the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi). The ability to ameliorate the motor control dysfunction without producing side effects related to interference with non-motor circuits subserving associative or affective processing requires the ability to target subcortical areas particularly involved in sensorimotor processing (currently achieved only by careful intraoperative microelectrode mapping). The goal of this article is to review current knowledge about the somatotopic segregation of basal ganglia sensorimotor areas and outline in detail what is known about their body maps.

Neuronal representations of cognitive state: reward or attention?

The effects of spatial or featural attention on the activity of neurons have been studied in many experiments that have used a variety of neurophysiological approaches. Other experiments have examined how expectations about reward are represented in neuronal activity in various brain regions. Although attention and reward are distinct concepts, I argue here that many neurophysiological experiments on attention and reward do not permit a clean dissociation between the two. This problem arises in part because reward contingencies are the only parameter manipulated in any of these experiments. I describe how attention and reward expectations have been confounded, giving rise to uncertainty about how signals related to attention and reward are distributed in the brain.

Expectations and outcomes: decision-making in the primate brain

Success in a constantly changing environment requires that decision-making strategies be updated as reward contingencies change. How this is accomplished by the nervous system has, until recently, remained a profound mystery. New studies coupling economic theory with neurophysiological techniques have revealed the explicit representation of behavioral value. Specifically, when fluid reinforcement is paired with visually-guided eye movements, neurons in parietal cortex, prefrontal cortex, the basal ganglia, and superior colliculus-all nodes in a network linking visual stimulation with the generation of oculomotor behavior-encode the expected value of targets lying within their response fields. Other brain areas have been implicated in the processing of reward-related information in the abstract: midbrain dopaminergic neurons, for instance, signal an error in reward prediction. Still other brain areas link information about reward to the selection and performance of specific actions in order for behavior to adapt to changing environmental exigencies. Neurons in posterior cingulate cortex have been shown to carry signals related to both reward outcomes and oculomotor behavior, suggesting that they participate in updating estimates of orienting value.

Role of basal ganglia–brainstem pathways in the control of motor behaviors

Here we review a role of a basal ganglia-brainstem (BG-BS) system throughout the mesopontine tegmentum in the control of various types of behavioral expression. First the basal ganglia-brainstem system may contribute to an automatic control of movements, such as rhythmic limb movements and adjustment of postural muscle tone during locomotion, which occurs in conjunction with voluntary control processes. Second, the basal ganglia-brainstem system can be involved in the regulation of awake-sleep states. We further propose the possibility that the basal ganglia-brainstem system is responsible for the integration of volitionally-guided and emotionally-triggered expression of motor behaviors. It can be proposed that dysfunction of the basal ganglia-brainstem system together with that of cortico-basal ganglia loop underlies the pathogenesis of behavioral disturbances expressed in basal ganglia dysfunction.

A Possible Role of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons in Short- and Long-Term Adaptation of Saccades to Position-Reward Mapping

Dopamine (DA) neurons respond to sensory stimuli that predict reward. To understand how DA neurons acquire such ability, we trained monkeys on a one-direction-rewarded version of memory-guided saccade task (1DR) only when we recorded from single DA neurons. In 1DR, position-reward mapping was changed across blocks of trials. In the early stage of training of 1DR, DA neurons responded to reward delivery; in the later stages, they responded predominantly to the visual cue that predicted reward or no reward (reward predictor) differentially. We found that such a shift of activity from reward to reward predictor also occurred within a block of trials after position-reward mapping was altered. A main effect of long-term training was to accelerate the within-block reward-to-predictor shift of DA neuronal responses. The within-block shift appeared first in the intermediate stage, but was slow, and DA neurons often responded to the cue that indicated reward in the preceding block. In the advanced stage, the reward-to-predictor shift occurred quickly such that the DA neurons' responses to visual cues faithfully matched the current position-reward mapping. Changes in the DA neuronal responses co-varied with the reward-predictive differentiation of saccade latency both in short-term (within-block) and long-term adaptation. DA neurons' response to the fixation point also underwent long-term changes until it occurred predominantly in the first trial within a block. This might trigger a switch between the learned sets. These results suggest that midbrain DA neurons play an essential role in adapting oculomotor behavior to frequent switches in position-reward mapping.

Neural coding of basic reward terms of animal learning theory, game theory, microeconomics and behavioural ecology

Neurons in a small number of brain structures detect rewards and reward-predicting stimuli and are active during the expectation of predictable food and liquid rewards. These neurons code the reward information according to basic terms of various behavioural theories that seek to explain reward-directed learning, approach behaviour and decision-making. The involved brain structures include groups of dopamine neurons, the striatum including the nucleus accumbens, the orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala. The reward information is fed to brain structures involved in decision-making and organisation of behaviour, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and possibly the parietal cortex. The neural coding of basic reward terms derived from formal theories puts the neurophysiological investigation of reward mechanisms on firm conceptual grounds and provides neural correlates for the function of rewards in learning, approach behaviour and decision-making.

Neuronal activity in the primate substantia nigra pars reticulata during the performance of simple and memory-guided elbow movements

The basal ganglia participate in motor functions and are implicated in the pathophysiology of movement disorders. It has been shown in primates that the activity of many neurons in one of the basal ganglia output nuclei, the internal segment of the globus pallidus, changes with active or passive movements. The involvement of the second major output nucleus, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), in movement is less well established. In this study, the electrophysiologic activity of SNr neurons was studied in two awake Rhesus monkeys while the animals were examined and while they performed elbow movements in two different motor tasks (n = 261 cells). Responses to examination were uncommon and subtle. Twenty-one percent of neurons responded to the target step in a step tracking task, mostly with anticipatory responses, although some cells showed directional, movement-related activity. In a delayed-response task, 17% of cells showed anticipatory activity to an instruction cue preceding the target jump, 11% responded directly to the cue, and 11% showed long-lasting postcue activity. Movement-related responses were seen in 21% in this task. Reward responses occurred in 10% of neurons. Responses to more than one event were common. The results demonstrate that few neurons in the SNr respond directly to passive or active movements, but a large proportion shows responses that may be related to memory, attention, or movement preparation. While internal pallidal segment neurons may be preferentially concerned with controlling elemental movement parameters, neurons in the SNr may be more involved in higher motor functions or nonmotor aspects of behavior.

Reward-Predicting Activity of Dopamine and Caudate Neurons—A Possible Mechanism of Motivational Control of Saccadic Eye Movement

Recent studies have suggested that the basal ganglia are related to motivational control of behavior. To study how motivational signals modulate motor signals in the basal ganglia, we examined activity of midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons and caudate (CD) projection neurons while monkeys were performing a one-direction-rewarded version (1DR) of memory-guided saccade task. The cue stimulus indicated the goal position for an upcoming saccade and the presence or absence of reward after the trial. Among four monkeys we studied, three were sensitive to reward such that saccade velocity was significantly higher in the rewarded trials than in the nonrewarded trials; one monkey was insensitive to reward. In the reward-sensitive monkeys, both DA and CD neurons responded differentially to reward-indicating and no-reward-indicating cues. Thus DA neurons responded with excitation to a reward-indicating cue and with inhibition to a no-reward-indicating cue. A group of CD neurons responded to the cue in their response fields (mostly contralateral) and the cue response was usually enhanced when it indicated reward. In the reward-insensitive monkey, DA neurons showed no response to the cue, while the cue responses of CD neurons were not modulated by reward. Many CD neurons in the reward-sensitive monkeys, but not the reward-insensitive monkey, showed precue activity. These results suggest that DA neurons, with their connection to CD neurons, modulate the spatially selective signals in CD neurons in the reward-predicting manner and CD neurons in turn modulate saccade parameters with their polysynaptic connections to the oculomotor brain stem.

An adjustment to the time-rescaling method for application to short-trial spike train data

It is important to validate models of neural data using appropriate goodness-of-fit measures. Models summarizing some response features--for example, spike count distributions or peristimulus time histograms--can be assessed using standard statistical tools. Measuring the fit of a full point-process model of spike trains is more difficult. Recently, Barbieri, Quirk, Frank, Wilson, and Brown (2001) and Brown, Barbieri, Ventura, Kass, and Frank (2002) presented a method for rescaling time so that if an underlying description correctly describes the conditional intensity function of a point process, the rescaling will convert the process into a homogeneous Poisson process. The corresponding interevent intervals are exponential with mean 1 and can be transformed to be uniform; tests of the uniformity of the transformed intervals are thus tests of how well the model fits the data. When the lengths of interevent intervals are comparable to the length of the observation window, as can happen in common neurophysiology paradigms using short trials, the fact that long intervals cannot be observed (are censored) can cause the tests based on time rescaling to reject a correct model inappropriately. This article presents a simple adjustment to the time-rescaling method to account for interval censoring, avoiding inappropriate rejection of acceptable models for short-trial data. We illustrate the adjustment's effect using both simulated data and short-trial data from monkey primary visual cortex.

Saccade Reward Signals in Posterior Cingulate Cortex

Movement selection depends on the outcome of prior behavior. Posterior cingulate cortex (CGp) is strongly connected with both limbic and oculomotor circuitry, and CGp neurons respond following saccades, suggesting a role in signaling the motivational outcome of gaze shifts. To test this hypothesis, single CGp neurons were studied in monkeys while they shifted gaze to visual targets for liquid rewards that varied in size or were delivered probabilistically. CGp neurons responded following saccades as well as following reward delivery, and these responses were correlated with reward size. CGp neurons also responded following the omission of predicted rewards. The timing of CGp activation and its modulation by reward could provide signals useful for updating representations of expected saccade value.

Effects of motivational conflicts on visually elicited saccades in monkeys

The prospect of reward evoked by external stimuli is a central element of goal-oriented behavior. To elucidate behavioral effects of reward expectation on saccade latency, we employed a visually guided saccade task with asymmetrical reward schedule. The monkey had to make an immediate saccade to a peripheral visual target in every trial, but was rewarded for a correct saccade to only one of four possible target positions. Reward availability was predictable on the basis of the spatial position of the target throughout a daily session. Compared with the condition where all positions were rewarded with a smaller amount, the mean saccade latency in the asymmetrical reward schedule was significantly shorter when the saccade was made toward the position associated with reward than when it was directed to no-reward positions. Furthermore, a divergence-point analysis on cumulative latency distributions showed that the expectation of reward facilitated saccades at all latency ranges. In contrast, the expected lack of reward delayed the initiation of saccades with latencies longer than about 200 ms, irrespective of whether the saccade was made to a position orthogonal or opposite to the reward position. For saccades with latencies of more than approximately 240 ms, an additional delay was observed when the saccade was made to a position opposite, as compared to orthogonal, to the reward position. These results suggest that the facilitation by predictive reward is mediated by a preparatory process that is location-specific, whereas the inhibition by the absence of reward takes about 200 ms after the target onset to become effective and is initially location nonspecific but turns location-specific over time.

Impact of expected reward on neuronal activity in prefrontal cortex, frontal and supplementary eye fields and premotor cortex

In several regions of the macaque brain, neurons fire during delayed response tasks at a rate determined by the value of the reward expected at the end of the trial. The activity of these neurons might be related either to the internal representation of the appetitive value of the expected reward or to motivation-dependent variations in the monkey's level of motor preparation or motor output. According to the first interpretation, reward-related activity should be most prominent in areas affiliated with the limbic system. According to the second interpretation, it should be most prominent in areas affiliated with the motor system. To distinguish between these alternatives, we carried out single-neuron recording while monkeys performed a memory-guided saccade task in which a visual cue presented early in each trial indicated whether the reward would be large or small. Neuronal activity accompanying task performance was monitored in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), the frontal eye field (FEF), a transitional zone caudal to the frontal eye field (FEF/PM), premotor cortex (PM), the supplementary eye field (SEF), and the rostral part of the supplementary motor area (SMAr). The tendency for neuronal activity to increase after cues that predicted a large reward became progressively stronger in progressively more posterior areas both in the lateral sector of the frontal lobe (PFC < FEF < FEF/PM < PM) and in the medial sector (SEF < SMAr). The very strong reward-related activity of premotor neurons was presumably attributable to the monkey's motivation-dependent level of motor preparation or motor output. This finding points to the need to determine whether reward-related activity in other nonlimbic brain areas, including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the dorsal striatum, genuinely represents the value of the expected reward or, alternatively, is related to motivational modulation of motor signals.

Reward-dependent gain and bias of visual responses in primate superior colliculus

Eye movements are often influenced by expectation of reward. Using a memory-guided saccade task with an asymmetric reward schedule, we show that visual responses of monkey SC neurons increase when the visual stimulus indicates an upcoming reward. The increase occurred in two distinct manners: (1) reactively, as an increase in the gain of the visual response when the stimulus indicated an upcoming reward; (2) proactively, as an increase in anticipatory activity when reward was expected in the neuron's response field. These effects were observed mostly in saccade-related SC neurons in the deeper layer which would receive inputs from the cortical eye fields and the basal ganglia. These results, together with recent findings, suggest that the gain modulation may be determined by the inputs from both the cortical eye fields and the basal ganglia, whereas the anticipatory bias may be derived mainly from the basal ganglia.

Controlled movement processing: superior colliculus activity associated with countermanded saccades

We investigated whether the monkey superior colliculus (SC), an important midbrain structure for the regulation of saccadic eye movements, contains neurons with activity patterns sufficient to control both the cancellation and the production of saccades. We used a countermanding task to manipulate the probability that, after the presentation of a stop signal, the monkeys canceled a saccade that was planned in response to an eccentric visual stimulus. By modeling each animal's behavioral responses, with a race between GO and STOP processes leading up to either saccade initiation or cancellation, we estimated that saccade cancellation took on average 110 msec. Neurons recorded in the superior colliculus intermediate layers during this task exhibited the discharge properties expected from neurons closely involved in behavioral control. Both saccade- and fixation-related discharged differently when saccades were counter-manded instead of executed, and the time at which they changed their activity preceded the behavioral estimate of saccade cancellation obtained from the same trials by 10 and 13 msec, respectively. Furthermore, these intervals exceed the minimal amount of time needed for SC activity to influence eye movements. The additional observation that saccade-related neurons discharged significantly less when saccades were countermanded instead of executed suggests that saccades are triggered when these neurons reach a critical activation level. Altogether, these findings provide solid evidence that the superior colliculus contains the necessary neural signals to be directly involved in the decision process that regulates whether a saccade is to be produced.

Opposing basal ganglia processes shape midbrain visuomotor activity bilaterally

The manner in which the nervous system allocates limited motor resources when confronted with conflicting behavioural demands is a crucial issue in understanding how sensory information is transformed into adaptive motor responses. Understanding this selection process is of particular concern in current models of functions of the basal ganglia. Here we report that the basal ganglia use simultaneous enhancing and suppressing processes synergistically to modulate sensory activity in the superior colliculi, which are bilaterally paired midbrain structures involved in the control of visual orientation behaviours. These complementary processes presumably ensure accurate gaze shifts mediated by the superior colliculi despite the presence of potential distractors.