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Published on: September 11, 2017
Cortical activity in the null space: permitting preparation without movement
Matthew T Kaufman1, Mark M Churchland2, Stephen I Ryu3
11] Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA. [2] Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA. [3] Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.
Neural circuits prepare movements by canceling out activity changes in motor cortex population readouts. This prevents premature muscle activation and controls neural communication during movement preparation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Neural circuits must compute and selectively output information.
- Synaptic changes occur slowly, posing a challenge for rapid communication control.
- Motor cortex is active before movement, but muscle activity remains unchanged during preparation.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how neural communication is controlled during movement preparation.
- Understand the mechanisms underlying preparatory activity in motor circuits.
- Determine how motor cortex prepares movements without causing premature execution.
Main Methods:
- Recorded neural activity in motor cortex of monkeys during a holding task.
- Analyzed population-level neural activity patterns.
- Examined the relationship between neural activity and muscle activity.
Main Results:
- During preparation, motor cortical activity changes canceled out at the population readout level.
- This cancellation mechanism allowed movement preparation without premature muscle activation.
- Similar 'output-null' activity patterns were found in dorsal premotor cortex, explaining attenuation in primary motor cortex.
Conclusions:
- Motor cortex utilizes 'output-null' activity patterns to prepare movements while preventing premature execution.
- This mechanism is crucial for controlling communication within motor circuits and to muscles.
- Selective use of 'output-null' vs. 'output-potent' activity patterns governs neural communication.
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