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Posterior Parietal Cortex Encoding of Dynamic Hand Force Underlying Hand-Object Interaction.

Simone Ferrari-Toniolo¹, Federica Visco-Comandini¹, Odysseas Papazachariadis¹

¹Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.

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

|August 7, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The macaque posterior parietal cortex (PPC) encodes hand forces for tool use, not just intended movements. Neuronal activity in PPC adapts to new force conditions and retains memory for predictive control of hand dynamics.

Keywords:

hand force inferior parietal lobule isometric action parietal cortex population vector visuomotor trasformations

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Primate Cognition
Motor Control

Background:

Skilled hand-object interaction and tool use are key primate evolutionary advancements.
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is crucial for these abilities, particularly hand-object manipulation.
Previous research suggested PPC primarily encodes kinematics, with motor areas handling forces.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of macaque inferior parietal cortex (areas PFG/PF) in encoding hand forces during tool manipulation.
To determine if PPC neurons encode intended movements (forward model) or applied forces (inverse model).
To examine how PPC activity adapts to altered force conditions and retains learned force dynamics.

Main Methods:

Recorded spiking activity from neurons in macaque inferior parietal cortex (areas PFG/PF).
Monkeys performed directional manipulation of an isometric tool to control a screen cursor.
Analyzed neuronal modulation by hand force, intended cursor motion, and adaptation to new force conditions.

Main Results:

~70% of PFG/PF neurons modulated activity by hand force (inverse model), not intended cursor motion (forward model).
Population vector activity accurately reflected the direction and amplitude of instantaneous force increments.
A subpopulation of neurons showed orderly changes in activity under new force conditions and retained memory of learned force dynamics after washout.

Conclusions:

Areas PFG/PF are critical for controlling hand force, encoding instantaneous force variations.
PPC acts as a memory reservoir for hand dynamics, essential for object manipulation and tool use.
Findings suggest parallel encoding of hand dynamics and kinematics in the PPC during manipulation.