Synchronized activity in prefrontal cortex during anticipation of visuomotor processing

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is hypothesized to exert top-down control over sensory processing.
• Anticipatory facilitation of sensory pathways is a proposed mechanism of this control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of the PFC in anticipatory top-down control of sensory processing.
• To examine the relationship between PFC activity and subsequent sensory/motor events during stimulus anticipation.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous recording of local field potentials from prefrontal, motor, occipital, and temporal cortical sites in macaque monkeys.
• Analysis of spectral power and coherence in the beta-frequency range during stimulus anticipation.

Main Results:

• Three of five prefrontal sites formed a coherent oscillatory network in the beta-frequency range during anticipation.
• Pre-stimulus network power and coherence correlated with early visual evoked potential components and response time.
• Stronger prefrontal network activity predicted enhanced sensory responses and faster motor reactions.

Conclusions:

• Synchronized oscillatory networks in the PFC are involved in top-down anticipatory mechanisms.
• PFC-mediated anticipatory control facilitates sensory processing in visual cortex.
• Enhanced top-down control by the PFC leads to improved sensory and motor response efficiency.