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Intra-Operative Behavioral Tasks in Awake Humans Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery

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Published on: January 6, 2011

Presetting basal ganglia for volitional actions.

Masayuki Watanabe¹, Douglas P Munoz

¹Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Group in Sensory-Motor Integration, Queen's University, 18 Stuart Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|July 30, 2010

Summary

Researchers found that specific neurons in the caudate nucleus (a part of the basal ganglia) selectively prepare for volitional actions. These neurons integrate non-spatial cues to favor internally driven movements over automatic ones.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Motor Control

Background:

The basal ganglia (BG) are crucial for volitional action preparation.
Striatal neurons show increased activity before action initiation, but selective encoding of volitional actions remains unclear.
Distinguishing between automatic and volitional actions is key to understanding motor control.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether specific caudate nucleus neurons selectively encode volitional actions.
To dissociate neural activity related to automatic vs. volitional saccades.
To understand how non-spatial cues influence action preparation in the basal ganglia.

Main Methods:

Used the antisaccade paradigm in monkeys to differentiate automatic and volitional saccades.
Recorded neuronal activity in the caudate nucleus (oculomotor striatum).
Analyzed neural responses relative to fixation initiation, temporal gaps, and task instructions.

Main Results:

Neurons encoding volitional saccades showed increased activity based on elapsed time, temporal gaps, and antisaccade instructions.
This activity correlated with successful volitional antisaccade behavior.
Neurons encoding automatic saccades responded to temporal cues but not task instructions or behavior.

Conclusions:

Caudate nucleus neurons selectively prepare for volitional actions.
These neurons integrate non-spatial signals (time, gaps, instructions) to bias action preparation.
This mechanism allows volitional actions to compete with automatic responses before spatial programming.