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Neural representation of response category and motor parameters in monkey prefrontal cortex

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Abstract

Conditional motor behavior, in which the relationship between stimuli and responses changes arbitrarily, is an important component of cognitive motor function in primates. It is still unclear how cognitive processing for conditional motor control determines movement parameters to directly specify motor output. To address this issue, we studied the neuronal representation of motor variables relating to conditional motor control and also directly to the metrics of motor output in prefrontal cortex (PFC). Monkeys were required to generate a force that fell within one of two categories (“small” and “large”). We found that most PFC neurons were activated as a function of force category, suggesting a role in conditional motor control. At the same time, we found that activity in many PFC neurons varied continuously with the force that was eventually produced, suggesting they participated in specifying the metrics of movements as they were executed. The results suggest that the PFC neural population encodes both “what” motor response should be performed and “how” the selected movement should be realized immediately after the visual instruction.

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Acknowledgements

Part of this study was done as the Ph.D. research of Tamami Fukushi, directed by Toshiyuki Sawaguchi. The authors also thank James Ashe, Matthew V. Chafee, and Kiyoshi Kurata for helpful discussion of the early version of the manuscript, and Matt Gregas for statistical comment. This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (H8DC16024) and by the Japan Science Society (9-248/10-248K). The current address of Toshiyuki Sawaguchi is the Laboratory of Neurobiology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, N15W7 Kitaku Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Brain Sciences Center (11B) VAMC, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Tamami Fukushi

  2. Department of Psychology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Tamami Fukushi, Tamami Fukushi & Toshiyuki Sawaguchi

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  1. Tamami Fukushi
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  2. Toshiyuki Sawaguchi
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Correspondence to Tamami Fukushi.

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Fukushi, T., Sawaguchi, T. Neural representation of response category and motor parameters in monkey prefrontal cortex. Exp Brain Res 164, 472–483 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-2268-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-2268-z

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