The broad, long-term objectives of our research are to elucidate the nature
of motor processing in the CNS 1) by demonstrating neural correlates of
different levels of motor processing, and 2) by comparing different areas
to clarify the different roles of these areas in motor control. The
current proposal is based upon the results of our recent single cell
recording study of rhesus monkeys performing visually-guided, delayed,
tracking tasks. The activity of a significant number of cells in the
supplementary motor area (SMA), motor cortex (MC) and putamen was related
to the target or goal of the movement independent of the direction of limb
movement and independent of the pattern of muscle activity. Our hypothesis
is that this target-dependent activity is a neural representation of very
high level motor processes involved in "capturing" the target or goal of
the movement. The goals of the present project are 1) to thoroughly
characterize the nature of this high-level, target-dependent activity using
a variety of paradigms, and 2) to examine the arcuate premotor area (APA)
and rostral and caudal cingulate motor areas (CMAr and CMAc) in addition to
the SMA and MC in order to compare and contrast these five precentral motor
areas. Comparisons will be made with respect to the frequency of
occurrence and timing of each type of cell activity observed. The activity
of individual neurons in the SMA, APA, CMAr, CMAc and MC will be recorded
in monkeys performing a variety of tasks that require them to make visually
guided limb movements. These tasks are specifically designed to determine
whether the activity of each cell is of the target-dependent variety, to
rule out several alternative explanations for such activity, and to extend
these findings to other tasks that also require the animal to capture the
same visual target in quite different ways. The specific aims are 1: To
ascertain for each cell whether the activity of that cell is directional
and, if so, whether that activity is related to the location of the
target/goal of the movement (target-dependent activity) or to the direction
of limb movement (limb-dependent activity). These paradigms will also
attempt to rule out the possibility that any target-dependent activity that
is observed is related to the preparation for, or execution of, saccadic
eye movements. 2: To determine for each cell with target-dependent
activity whether that activity is a neural correlate of spatial memory. 3:
To determine for each cell with target-dependent activity whether that
activity is a neural correlate of selective attention. 4: To determine
whether target-dependent activity can be observed in tasks that require the
animal to capture the same visual targets by using entirely different limb
movements. Two different approaches will be used: 1) the animal will
'capture" the target by making relatively unconstrained reaching movements
in 3-dimensional space to a touchscreen mounted on the video monitor, and
2) the animal will perform the standard tracking task using the hand
ipsilateral to the recorded neuron.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
CFDA Code
DUNS Number
066469933
UEI
S352L5PJLMP8
Project Start Date
01-July-1992
Project End Date
30-June-1996
Budget Start Date
01-July-1994
Budget End Date
30-June-1995
Project Funding Information for 1994
Total Funding
$143,493
Direct Costs
$91,397
Indirect Costs
$52,096
Year
Funding IC
FY Total Cost by IC
1994
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
$143,493
Year
Funding IC
FY Total Cost by IC
Sub Projects
No Sub Projects information available for 5R01NS030212-03
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Publications are associated with projects, but cannot be identified with any particular year of the project or fiscal year of funding. This is due to the continuous and cumulative nature of knowledge generation across the life of a project and the sometimes long and variable publishing timeline. Similarly, for multi-component projects, publications are associated with the parent core project and not with individual sub-projects.
No Publications available for 5R01NS030212-03
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No Outcomes available for 5R01NS030212-03
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