Influence of visually guided tracking arm movements on single cell activity in area MT

Reliability of Visual and Somatosensory Feedback in Skilled Movement: The Role of the Cerebellum

The integration of vision and somatosensation is required to allow for accurate motor behavior. While both sensory systems contribute to an understanding of the state of the body through continuous updating and estimation, how the brain processes unreliable sensory information remains to be fully understood in the context of complex action. Using functional brain imaging, we sought to understand the role of the cerebellum in weighting visual and somatosensory feedback by selectively reducing the reliability of each sense individually during a tool use task. We broadly hypothesized upregulated activation of the sensorimotor and cerebellar areas during movement with reduced visual reliability, and upregulated activation of occipital brain areas during movement with reduced somatosensory reliability. As specifically compared to reduced somatosensory reliability, we expected greater activations of ipsilateral sensorimotor cerebellum for intact visual and somatosensory reliability. Further, we expected that ipsilateral posterior cognitive cerebellum would be affected with reduced visual reliability. We observed that reduced visual reliability results in a trend towards the relative consolidation of sensorimotor activation and an expansion of cerebellar activation. In contrast, reduced somatosensory reliability was characterized by the absence of cerebellar activations and a trend towards the increase of right frontal, left parietofrontal activation, and temporo-occipital areas. Our findings highlight the role of the cerebellum for specific aspects of skillful motor performance. This has relevance to understanding basic aspects of brain functions underlying sensorimotor integration, and provides a greater understanding of cerebellar function in tool use motor control.

Involvement of the superior temporal cortex in action execution and action observation

The role of the superior temporal sulcus (STs) in action execution and action observation remains unsettled. In an attempt to shed more light on the matter, we used the quantitative method of (14)C-deoxyglucose to reveal changes in activity, in the cortex of STs and adjacent inferior and superior temporal convexities of monkeys, elicited by reaching-to-grasp in the light or in the dark and by observation of the same action executed by an external agent. We found that observation of reaching-to-grasp activated the components of the superior temporal polysensory area [STP; including temporo-parieto-occipital association area (TPO), PGa, and IPa], the motion complex [including medial superior temporal area (MST), fundus of superior temporal area (FST), and dorsal and ventral parts of the middle temporal area (MTd and MTv, respectively)], and area TS2. A significant part of most of these activations was associated with observation of the goal-directed action, and a smaller part with the perception of arm-motion. Execution of reaching-to-grasp in the light-activated areas TS2, STP partially and marginally, and MT compared with the fixation but not to the arm-motion control. Consequently, MT-activation is associated with the arm-motion and not with the purposeful action. Finally, reaching-to-grasp in complete darkness activated all components of the motion complex. Conclusively, lack of visibility of our own actions involves the motion complex, whereas observation of others' actions engages area STP and the motion complex. Our previous and present findings together suggest that sensory effects are interweaved with motor commands in integrated action codes, and observation of an action or its execution in complete darkness triggers the retrieval of the visual representation of the action.

Neuroimaging Evidence of Motor Control and Pain Processing in the Human Midcingulate Cortex

Human neuroimaging and virus-tracing studies in monkey predict that motor control and pain processes should overlap in anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), but there is currently no direct evidence that this is the case. We used a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm to examine brain activity while subjects performed a motor control task, experienced a pain-eliciting stimulus on their hand, and performed the motor control task while also experiencing the pain-eliciting stimulus. Our experiment produced 3 novel results. First, group-level analyses showed that when separate trials of motor control and pain processing were performed, overlapping functional activity was found in the same regions of aMCC, supplementary motor area (SMA), anterior insula, and putamen. Secondly, increased activity was found in the aMCC and SMA when motor control and pain processing occurred simultaneously. Thirdly, individual-level analyses showed that 93% of subjects engaged the same region of aMCC during separate trials of motor control and pain processing irrespective of differences in the sulcal/gyral morphology of the cingulate cortex across individuals. These observations provide direct evidence in humans that the same region of aMCC is engaged for motor control and pain processing.

The role of areas MT+/V5 and SPOC in spatial and temporal control of manual interception: an rTMS study

Manual interception, such as catching or hitting an approaching ball, requires the hand to contact a moving object at the right location and at the right time. Many studies have examined the neural mechanisms underlying the spatial aspects of goal-directed reaching, but the neural basis of the spatial and temporal aspects of manual interception are largely unknown. Here, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to investigate the role of the human middle temporal visual motion area (MT+/V5) and superior parieto-occipital cortex (SPOC) in the spatial and temporal control of manual interception. Participants were required to reach-to-intercept a downward moving visual target that followed an unpredictably curved trajectory, presented on a screen in the vertical plane. We found that rTMS to MT+/V5 influenced interceptive timing and positioning, whereas rTMS to SPOC only tended to increase the spatial variance in reach end points for selected target trajectories. These findings are consistent with theories arguing that distinct neural mechanisms contribute to spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal control of manual interception.

The role of areas MT+/V5 and SPOC in spatial and temporal control of manual interception: an rTMS study

Manual interception, such as catching or hitting an approaching ball, requires the hand to contact a moving object at the right location and at the right time. Many studies have examined the neural mechanisms underlying the spatial aspects of goal-directed reaching, but the neural basis of the spatial and temporal aspects of manual interception are largely unknown. Here, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to investigate the role of the human middle temporal visual motion area (MT+/V5) and superior parieto-occipital cortex (SPOC) in the spatial and temporal control of manual interception. Participants were required to reach-to-intercept a downward moving visual target that followed an unpredictably curved trajectory, presented on a screen in the vertical plane. We found that rTMS to MT+/V5 influenced interceptive timing and positioning, whereas rTMS to SPOC only tended to increase the spatial variance in reach end points for selected target trajectories. These findings are consistent with theories arguing that distinct neural mechanisms contribute to spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal control of manual interception.

Spatiotemporal tuning of brain activity and force performance

The spatial and temporal features of visual stimuli are either processed independently or are conflated in specific cells of visual cortex. Although spatial and temporal features of visual stimuli influence motor performance, it remains unclear how spatiotemporal information is processed beyond visual cortex in brain regions that control movement. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how brain activity and force control are influenced by visual gain at a high visual feedback frequency of 6.4 Hz and a low visual feedback frequency of 0.4 Hz. At 6.4 Hz, increasing visual gain led to improved force performance and increased activity in classic areas of the visuomotor system-V5, IPL, SPL, PMv, SMA-proper, and M1. At 0.4 Hz, increasing gain also led to improved force performance. In addition to activation in M1/PMd and IPL in the visuomotor system, increasing visual gain at 0.4 Hz also corresponded with activity in the striatal-frontal circuit including DLPFC, ACC, and widespread activity in putamen, caudate, and SMA-proper. This study demonstrates that the frequency of visual feedback drives where in the brain visual gain mediated reductions in force error are regulated.

Selective regions of the visuomotor system are related to gain-induced changes in force error

When humans perform movements and receive on-line visual feedback about their performance, the spatial qualities of the visual information alter performance. The spatial qualities of visual information can be altered via the manipulation of visual gain and changes in visual gain lead to changes in force error. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging during a steady-state precision grip force task to examine how cortical and subcortical brain activity can change with visual gain induced changes in force error. Small increases in visual gain < 1° were associated with a substantial reduction in force error and a small increase in the spatial amplitude of visual feedback. These behavioral effects corresponded with an increase in activation bilaterally in V3 and V5 and in left primary motor cortex and left ventral premotor cortex. Large increases in visual gain > 1° were associated with a small change in force error and a large change in the spatial amplitude of visual feedback. These behavioral effects corresponded with increased activity bilaterally in dorsal and ventral premotor areas and right inferior parietal lobule. Finally, activity in the left and right lobule VI of the cerebellum and left and right putamen did not change with increases in visual gain. Together, these findings demonstrate that the visuomotor system does not respond uniformly to changes in the gain of visual feedback. Instead, specific regions of the visuomotor system selectively change in activity related to large changes in force error and large changes in the spatial amplitude of visual feedback.