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An Emerging Target Paradigm to Evoke Fast Visuomotor Responses on Human Upper Limb Muscles
Published on: August 25, 2020
Brain mechanisms for switching from automatic to controlled eye movements.
Okihide Hikosaka1, Masaki Isoda
1Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. oh@lsr.nei.nih.gov
Progress in Brain Research
|August 23, 2008
Summary
The presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) helps switch from automatic to controlled actions. This brain region suppresses unwanted habits and boosts desired volitional behaviors when environments change.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Human behavior relies heavily on automatic, habitual actions.
- Environmental changes necessitate switching from automatic to volitional control.
- The neural mechanisms underlying behavioral switching remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) in behavioral switching.
- To understand how the brain transitions from automatic to volitionally controlled actions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized color-matching saccade tasks in rhesus monkeys.
- Recorded neural activity in the pre-SMA during task performance.
- Applied electrical stimulation to the pre-SMA to observe effects on behavior.
Main Results:
- Identified pre-SMA neurons selectively activated during successful behavioral switches.
- Demonstrated that pre-SMA stimulation could replace automatic incorrect saccades with slower, correct ones.
- Evidence suggests pre-SMA suppresses automatic actions and enhances controlled actions.
Conclusions:
- The pre-SMA plays a crucial role in switching from automatic to volitional behavior.
- The pre-SMA resolves response conflict to enable selection of desired actions.
- Findings provide insights into the neural circuits governing behavioral flexibility.
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