Cortical mechanisms involved in visuomotor coordination during precision walking

Goal-directed locomotion, in particular in situations where there is a need to step over or around obstacles, is largely guided by visual information. To negotiate an obstacle successfully, subjects must first plan how to perform the movement and then must execute that plan. In cats, this information must also be stored and used to guide the hindlimbs, which are moved in the absence of direct visual input. Experiments in cats have shown that the motor cortex makes an important contribution to the execution of gait modifications and is involved both in specifying limb trajectory and, when necessary, where the paw will be placed. We suggest that, in both situations, subpopulations of pyramidal tract neurons in the motor cortex act to regulate the duration, level and timing of small groups of synergistic muscles, active at different times during the gait modification. However, the available evidence suggests that the motor cortex plays little role in the planning of these gait modifications. Instead, recent work suggests that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) may contribute to this function. In agreement with this proposal, we have found that lesions to this structure lead to errors in forelimb placement in front of an advancing obstacle and may produce deficits in forelimb-hindlimb coordination. Single-unit recordings from neurons in the PPC support a role for the PPC in these two aspects of visually guided locomotion and further show that the signal in this structure might be limb-independent.