HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 98/2/966    most recent 00421.2006v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Batista, A. P. Articles by Shenoy, K. V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Batista, A. P. Articles by Shenoy, K. V.

Reference Frames for Reach Planning in Macaque Dorsal Premotor Cortex

¹Departments of Electrical Engineering and ³Neurosurgery, ²Neurosciences Program, ⁴Medical Scientists Training Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California

Submitted 21 April 2007; accepted in final form 15 June 2007

When a human or animal reaches out to grasp an object, the brain rapidly computes a pattern of muscular contractions that can acquire the target. This computation involves a reference frame transformation because the target's position is initially available only in a visual reference frame, yet the required control signal is a set of commands to the musculature. One of the core brain areas involved in visually guided reaching is the dorsal aspect of the premotor cortex (PMd). Using chronically implanted electrode arrays in two Rhesus monkeys, we studied the contributions of PMd to the reference frame transformation for reaching. PMd neurons are influenced by the locations of reach targets relative to both the arm and the eyes. Some neurons encode reach goals using limb-centered reference frames, whereas others employ eye-centered reference fames. Some cells encode reach goals in a reference frame best described by the combined position of the eyes and hand. In addition to neurons like these where a reference frame could be identified, PMd also contains cells that are influenced by both the eye- and limb-centered locations of reach goals but for which a distinct reference frame could not be determined. We propose two interpretations for these neurons. First, they may encode reach goals using a reference frame we did not investigate, such as intrinsic reference frames. Second, they may not be adequately characterized by any reference frame.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. U. Sorrento and D. Y. P. Henriques Reference Frame Conversions for Repeated Arm Movements J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2008; 99(6): 2968 - 2984. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Chestek, A. P. Batista, G. Santhanam, B. M. Yu, A. Afshar, J. P. Cunningham, V. Gilja, S. I. Ryu, M. M. Churchland, and K. V. Shenoy Single-Neuron Stability during Repeated Reaching in Macaque Premotor Cortex J. Neurosci., October 3, 2007; 27(40): 10742 - 10750. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]