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Mizes KGC, Lindsey J, Escola GS, Ölveczky BP. Motor cortex is required for flexible but not automatic motor sequences. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.05.556348. [PMID: 37732225 PMCID: PMC10508748 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.05.556348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
How motor cortex contributes to motor sequence execution is much debated, with studies supporting disparate views. Here we probe the degree to which motor cortex's engagement depends on task demands, specifically whether its role differs for highly practiced, or 'automatic', sequences versus flexible sequences informed by external events. To test this, we trained rats to generate three-element motor sequences either by overtraining them on a single sequence or by having them follow instructive visual cues. Lesioning motor cortex revealed that it is necessary for flexible cue-driven motor sequences but dispensable for single automatic behaviors trained in isolation. However, when an automatic motor sequence was practiced alongside the flexible task, it became motor cortex-dependent, suggesting that subcortical consolidation of an automatic motor sequence is delayed or prevented when the same sequence is produced also in a flexible context. A simple neural network model recapitulated these results and explained the underlying circuit mechanisms. Our results critically delineate the role of motor cortex in motor sequence execution, describing the condition under which it is engaged and the functions it fulfills, thus reconciling seemingly conflicting views about motor cortex's role in motor sequence generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G. C. Mizes
- Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,
USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for
Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jack Lindsey
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia
University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - G. Sean Escola
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia
University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY,
10032, USA
| | - Bence P. Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for
Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Hayashi M, Tsuchimoto S, Mizuguchi N, Miyatake M, Kasuga S, Ushiba J. Two-stage regression of high-density scalp electroencephalograms visualizes force regulation signaling during muscle contraction. J Neural Eng 2019; 16:056020. [DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab221a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Chye L, Riek S, de Rugy A, Carson RG, Carroll TJ. Unilateral movement preparation causes task-specific modulation of TMS responses in the passive, opposite limb. J Physiol 2018; 596:3725-3738. [PMID: 29775218 DOI: 10.1113/jp275433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS Activity in the primary motor cortices of both hemispheres increases during unilateral movement preparation, but the functional role of ipsilateral motor cortex activity is unknown. Ipsilateral motor cortical activity could represent subliminal 'motor planning' for the passive limb. Alternatively, it could represent the state of the active limb, to support coordination between the limbs should a bimanual movement be required. Here we assessed how preparation of forces toward different directions, with the left wrist, alters evoked responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation of left motor cortex. Preparation of a unilateral movement caused excitability increases in ipsilateral motor cortex that reflected forces produced with the active limb in an intrinsic (body-centred), rather than an extrinsic (world-centred), coordinate system. These results suggest that ipsilateral motor cortical activity prior to unilateral action reflects the state of the active limb, rather than subliminal motor planning for the passive limb. ABSTRACT Corticospinal excitability is modulated for muscles on both sides of the body during unilateral movement preparation. For the effector, there is a progressive increase in excitability, and a shift in direction of muscle twitches evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) toward the impending movement. By contrast, the directional characteristics of excitability changes in the opposite (passive) limb have not been fully characterized. Here we assessed how preparation of voluntary forces towards four spatially distinct visual targets with the left wrist alters muscle twitches and motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by TMS of left motor cortex. MEPs were facilitated significantly more in muscles homologous to agonist rather than antagonist muscles in the active limb, from 120 ms prior to voluntary EMG onset. Thus, unilateral motor preparation has a directionally specific influence on pathways projecting to the opposite limb that corresponds to the active muscles rather than the direction of movement in space. The directions of TMS-evoked twitches also deviated toward the impending force direction of the active limb, according to muscle-based coordinates, following the onset of voluntary EMG. The data indicate that preparation of a unilateral movement increases task-dependent excitability in ipsilateral motor cortex, or its downstream projections, that reflects the forces applied by the active limb in an intrinsic (body-centred), rather than an extrinsic (world-centred), coordinate system. The results suggest that ipsilateral motor cortical activity prior to unilateral action reflects the state of the active limb, rather than subliminal motor planning for the passive limb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilian Chye
- Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Stephan Riek
- Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Aymar de Rugy
- Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux, France
| | - Richard G Carson
- Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.,School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Timothy J Carroll
- Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Lefebvre S, Liew SL. Anatomical Parameters of tDCS to Modulate the Motor System after Stroke: A Review. Front Neurol 2017; 8:29. [PMID: 28232816 PMCID: PMC5298973 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2016] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method to modulate the local field potential in neural tissue and consequently, cortical excitability. As tDCS is relatively portable, affordable, and accessible, the applications of tDCS to probe brain-behavior connections have rapidly increased in the last 10 years. One of the most promising applications is the use of tDCS to modulate excitability in the motor cortex after stroke and promote motor recovery. However, the results of clinical studies implementing tDCS to modulate motor excitability have been highly variable, with some studies demonstrating that as many as 50% or more of patients fail to show a response to stimulation. Much effort has therefore been dedicated to understand the sources of variability affecting tDCS efficacy. Possible suspects include the placement of the electrodes, task parameters during stimulation, dosing (current amplitude, duration of stimulation, frequency of stimulation), individual states (e.g., anxiety, motivation, attention), and more. In this review, we first briefly review potential sources of variability specific to stroke motor recovery following tDCS. We then examine how the anatomical variability in tDCS placement [e.g., neural target(s) and montages employed] may alter the neuromodulatory effects that tDCS exerts on the post-stroke motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Lefebvre
- Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Department of Neurology, Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sook-Lei Liew
- Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Department of Neurology, Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Guo JZ, Graves AR, Guo WW, Zheng J, Lee A, Rodríguez-González J, Li N, Macklin JJ, Phillips JW, Mensh BD, Branson K, Hantman AW. Cortex commands the performance of skilled movement. eLife 2015; 4:e10774. [PMID: 26633811 PMCID: PMC4749564 DOI: 10.7554/elife.10774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 142] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian cerebral cortex is accepted as being critical for voluntary motor control, but what functions depend on cortex is still unclear. Here we used rapid, reversible optogenetic inhibition to test the role of cortex during a head-fixed task in which mice reach, grab, and eat a food pellet. Sudden cortical inhibition blocked initiation or froze execution of this skilled prehension behavior, but left untrained forelimb movements unaffected. Unexpectedly, kinematically normal prehension occurred immediately after cortical inhibition, even during rest periods lacking cue and pellet. This 'rebound' prehension was only evoked in trained and food-deprived animals, suggesting that a motivation-gated motor engram sufficient to evoke prehension is activated at inhibition's end. These results demonstrate the necessity and sufficiency of cortical activity for enacting a learned skill.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian-Zhong Guo
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Austin R Graves
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Wendy W Guo
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Jihong Zheng
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Allen Lee
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | | | - Nuo Li
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - John J Macklin
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - James W Phillips
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Brett D Mensh
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Kristin Branson
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Adam W Hantman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
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Sclafani V, Simpson EA, Suomi SJ, Ferrari PF. Development of space perception in relation to the maturation of the motor system in infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:429-41. [PMID: 25486636 PMCID: PMC5100747 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2014] [Revised: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 12/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
To act on the environment, organisms must perceive object locations in relation to their body. Several neuroscientific studies provide evidence of neural circuits that selectively represent space within reach (i.e., peripersonal) and space outside of reach (i.e., extrapersonal). However, the developmental emergence of these space representations remains largely unexplored. We investigated the development of space coding in infant macaques and found that they exhibit different motor strategies and hand configurations depending on the objects' size and location. Reaching-grasping improved from 2 to 4 weeks of age, suggesting a broadly defined perceptual body schema at birth, modified by the acquisition and refinement of motor skills through early sensorimotor experience, enabling the development of a mature capacity for coding space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Sclafani
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Via Volturno 39 - 43100 Parma, Italy.
| | - Elizabeth A Simpson
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Via Volturno 39 - 43100 Parma, Italy; Eunice Kennedy Shiver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Poolesville, MD, USA
| | - Stephen J Suomi
- Eunice Kennedy Shiver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Poolesville, MD, USA
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Abstract
Much of our normal behavior depends on the sequential execution of multiphased movements, or the execution of multiple movements arranged in a correct temporal order. This article deals with the issue of motor selection to arrange multiple movements in an appropriate temporal order, rather than the issue of constructing spatio-temporal structures in a single action. Planning, generating, and controlling the sequential motor behavior involves multiple cortical and subcortical neural structures. Studies on human subjects and nonhuman primates, however, have revealed that the medial motor areas in the frontal cortex and the basal ganglia play particularly important roles in the temporal sequencing of multiple movements. Cellular activity observed in the supplementary and presupplementary motor areas while performing specifically designed motor tasks suggests the way in which these areas take part in constructing the time structure for the sequential execution of multiple movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Tanji
- Department of Physiology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai 980, Japan.
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Abstract
Recent evidence indicates that intellectual and perceptual-motor skills are acquired in fundamentally similar ways. Transfer specificity, generativity, and the use of abstract rules and reflexlike productions are similar in the two skill domains; brain sites subserving thought processes and perceptual-motor processes are not as distinct as once thought; explicit and implicit knowledge characterize both kinds of skill; learning rates, training effects, and learning stages are remarkably similar for the two skill classes; and imagery, long thought to play a distinctive role in high-level thought, also plays a role in perceptual-motor learning and control. The conclusion that intellectual skills and perceptual-motor skills are psychologically more alike than different accords with the view that all knowledge is performatory.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A Rosenbaum
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
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Wang Y, Kurata K. Quantitative analyses of thalamic and cortical origins of neurons projecting to the rostral and caudal forelimb motor areas in the cerebral cortex of rats. Brain Res 1998; 781:137-47. [PMID: 9507093 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-8993(97)01223-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
On the basis of studies using intracortical microstimulation, the existence of rostrocaudally separate two forelimb representation areas has been inferred in the motor cortex of rats. They are termed caudal and rostral forelimb areas (CFA and RFA). In this study, it was confirmed first that RFA and CFA are located in cytoarchitectonically distinct areas (medial and lateral parts of agranular cortex, respectively). In the second part of this study, the distribution of thalamic and cortical neurons projecting to RFA and CFA was quantitatively compared by injections of small and relatively constant amounts of retrograde fluorescent dyes (diamidino yellow and fast blue) into these areas. It was observed that (1) main inputs to RFA originated from AGl, namely CFA (2) CFA received dominant inputs from AGm including RFA and caudally adjacent granular cortex and (3) wider cortical areas and larger number of neurons projected to CFA than to RFA. As for the thalamocortical projections, both RFA and CFA received inputs from various thalamic nuclei, such as VL, VM, Po, PC, PF, CL, but cells projecting to RFA and CFA were differentially located in each nucleus. It was found that labeled cell number and/or density in VM, PC, CL, CM and MD after RFA injections were significantly larger than those after CFA injections. On the other hand, labeled cell number and/or density in VPL and VL were significantly higher after CFA injections than after RFA injections. In comparison with findings in primates, the results suggest that the cortical motor areas of rats may be specialized for different aspects of motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Wang
- Department of Physiology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, 980-77, Japan
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Neuronal Activity in Area 4 and Movement Parameters Recorded in Trained Monkeys After Unilateral Lesion of the Substantia Nigra. NEURAL CODING OF MOTOR PERFORMANCE 1983. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-68915-4_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
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