Premotor cortex of rhesus monkeys: set-related activity during two conditional motor tasks

SummaryWe compared set-related premotor cortex activity in two conditional motor tasks. In both tasks, a rhesus monkey moved its forelimb to one of two possible targets on the basis of visuospatial instruction stimuli. One target was located to the left of the limb's starting position, the other to the right. In the directional task, a white light situated within the target provided the instruction. In the arbitrary task, colored instruction stimuli equidistant from the targets established an arbitrary relationship between stimulus and response. One hypothesis about setrelated premotor cortex activity is that it contributes to the preparation for limb movement on the basis of sensory instruction stimuli. If set-related activity differed profoundly in the arbitrary and directional tasks, then that hypothesis would be untenable. Out of 403 task-related premotor cortex neurons in two monkeys, 130 neurons showed set-related activity, and we studied 118 cells in detail. The vast majority (81%) of these 118 neurons showed no significant difference between the two tasks in set-related activity. When set-related activity did differ, the greatest activity usually occurred after arbitrary instructions; the opposite being the case for only 5% of our sample. Differences in activity during the two tasks, even when statistically significant, were generally small. The present results accord with the hypothesis that set-related premotor cortex activity reflects aspects of motor preparation.

[1]  Edward V. Evarts,et al.  Electromyography in CNS Disorders , 1985, Neurology.

[2]  M. Wiesendanger,et al.  Sensory input to the motor fields of the agranular frontal cortex: A comparison of the precentral, supplementary motor and premotor cortex , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.

[3]  R. Passingham,et al.  The role of premotor and parietal cortex in the direction of action , 1982, Brain Research.

[4]  G. Goldberg.  Supplementary motor area structure and function: Review and hypotheses , 1985, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[5]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Afferent and efferent projections of the inferior area 6 in the macaque monkey , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[6]  Steven P. Wise,et al.  The primate promoter cortex fifty years after Fulton , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.

[7]  S. P. Wise,et al.  Set-related neuronal activity in the premotor cortex of rhesus monkeys: effects of changes in motor set , 1985, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences.

[8]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Visual responses in the postarcuate cortex (area 6) of the monkey that are independent of eye position , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[9]  H. Kuypers,et al.  Premotor cortical ablations in monkeys: contralateral changes in visually guided reaching behavior. , 1977, Science.

[10]  R. Lemon,et al.  Behaviour of neurons in monkey peri-arcuate and precentral cortex before and during visually guided arm and hand movements , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[11]  H. E. Rosvold,et al.  Localization of function within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the rhesus monkey. , 1970, Experimental neurology.

[12]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Afferent properties of periarcuate neurons in macaque monkeys. I. Somatosensory responses , 1981, Behavioural Brain Research.

[13]  M. Bonnet,et al.  Anticipatory changes of long-latency stretch responses during preparation for directional hand movements , 1983, Brain Research.

[14]  S. Wise,et al.  Premotor cortex of the rhesus monkey: neuronal activity in anticipation of predictable environmental events , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[15]  S. Wise,et al.  The premotor cortex of the monkey , 1982, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[16]  S. Wise,et al.  Motor aspects of cue-related neuronal activity in premotor cortex of the rhesus monkey , 1983, Brain Research.

[17]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Afferent properties of periarcuate neurons in macaque monkeys. II. Visual responses , 1981, Behavioural Brain Research.

[18]  H. E. Rosvold,et al.  Analysis of the delayed-alternation deficit produced by dorsolateral prefrontal lesions in the rhesus monkey. , 1971, Journal of comparative and physiological psychology.

[19]  R Porter,et al.  Supplementary motor area and premotor area of monkey cerebral cortex: functional organization and activities of single neurons during performance of a learned movement. , 1983, Advances in neurology.

[20]  M. Petrides.  The effect of periarcuate lesions in the monkey on the performance of symmetrically and asymmetrically reinforced visual and auditory go, no- go tasks , 1986, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[21]  M. Petrides.  Deficits in non-spatial conditional associative learning after periarcuate lesions in the monkey , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.

[22]  R. Lemon,et al.  Involvement of Monkey Premotor Cortex in the Preparation of Arm Movements , 1983 .

[23]  I. Hamada,et al.  Visual tracking and neuron activity in the post-arcuate area in monkeys. , 1978, Journal de physiologie.

[24]  R. Passingham,et al.  Premotor cortex and the conditions for movement in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.

[25]  M. Petrides.  Deficits on conditional associative-learning tasks after frontal- and temporal-lobe lesions in man , 1985, Neuropsychologia.

[26]  A. Riehle.  Changes in Neuronal Activity of Motor Cortical Areas Associated with the Coding of Spatial Parameters of the Movement: Preliminary Results , 1987 .

[27]  J. Tanji,et al.  Premotor cortex neurons in macaques: activity before distal and proximal forelimb movements , 1986, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[28]  E. Vaadia,et al.  Unit study of monkey frontal cortex: active localization of auditory and of visual stimuli. , 1986, Journal of neurophysiology.

[29]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Patterns of cytochrome oxidase activity in the frontal agranular cortex of the macaque monkey , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.

[30]  P. Strick,et al.  Frontal lobe inputs to primate motor cortex: evidence for four somatotopically organized ‘premotor’ areas , 1979, Brain Research.

[31]  M. Wiesendanger,et al.  Structural and functional definition of the motor cortex in the monkey (Macaca fascicularis) , 1982, The Journal of physiology.

[32]  R. Lemon,et al.  The involvement of monkey premotor cortex neurones in preparation of visually cued arm movements , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.

[33]  S. Wise,et al.  A neurophysiological study of the premotor cortex in the rhesus monkey. , 1984, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[34]  J. Requin,et al.  Long loop and spinal reflexes in man during preparation for intended directional hand movements , 1982, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[35]  R. Passingham,et al.  Cues for movement in monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with lesions in premotor cortex. , 1986, Behavioral neuroscience.

[36]  S. Wise.  The primate premotor cortex: past, present, and preparatory. , 1985, Annual review of neuroscience.

[37]  M. Petrides.  Motor conditional associative-learning after selective prefrontal lesions in the monkey , 1982, Behavioural Brain Research.

[38]  Kisou Kubota,et al.  Preparatory activity of monkey pyramidal tract neurons related to quick movement onset during visual tracking performance , 1979, Brain Research.

[39]  H. Freund,et al.  Lesions of premotor cortex in man. , 1985, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[40]  J. Requin,et al.  Changes in neuronal activity of the monkey precentral cortex during preparation for movement. , 1986, Journal of neurophysiology.

[41]  R. Passingham.  Premotor cortex: Sensory cues and movement , 1985, Behavioural Brain Research.