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Distribution of hand location in monkeys during spontaneous behavior

Experimental Brain Research volume 155, pages 30–36 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently it was shown that electrical stimulation of the precentral gyrus of monkeys can evoke complex, coordinated movements. In the forelimb representation, stimulation of each site caused the arm to move to a specific final posture, and thus the hand to move to a location in space. Among these stimulation-evoked hand locations, certain regions of the hand’s workspace were more represented than others. We hypothesized that a similar non-uniform distribution of hand location should be present during a monkey’s spontaneous behavior. The present study examined the distribution of hand location of monkeys in their home cages. This distribution was similar to that found by stimulation of the precentral gyrus. That is, arm postures that were over-represented in spontaneous behavior were also over-represented in the movements evoked by cortical stimulation.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by NIH grants EY-11347, MH-12336, and NS-41878, and Burroughs Wellcome grant #992817.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Green Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Michael S. A. Graziano, Dylan F. Cooke, Charlotte S. R. Taylor & Tirin Moore

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  1. Michael S. A. Graziano
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  2. Dylan F. Cooke
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  3. Charlotte S. R. Taylor
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  4. Tirin Moore
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Correspondence to Michael S. A. Graziano.

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Graziano, M.S.A., Cooke, D.F., Taylor, C.S.R. et al. Distribution of hand location in monkeys during spontaneous behavior. Exp Brain Res 155, 30–36 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1701-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1701-4

Keywords

  • Reaching
  • Grasping
  • Motor cortex
  • Posture