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Updated: Dec 22, 2025
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Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
Published on: August 1, 2018
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Parietal Cortex Integrates Saccade and Object Orientation Signals to Update Grasp Plans
Bianca R Baltaretu1,2,3, Simona Monaco4,5, Jena Velji-Ibrahim4,2,6
1Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada b.baltaretu@gmail.com.
Summary
The brain integrates eye movements and visual changes to update grasp plans, involving parietal cortex regions like the supramarginal gyrus (SMG). This network helps us accurately grasp objects despite visual perturbations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Coordinated reach-to-grasp movements often coincide with rapid eye movements (saccades), which shift the object's image on the retina.
- The parietal cortex is known to update reach goals based on gaze direction, but its role in integrating oculomotor and visual signals for grasp plan updating remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of inferior parietal cortex, specifically the supramarginal gyrus (SMG), in integrating saccade and visual signals for updating grasp plans.
- To identify parietal regions involved in updating grasp plans in response to oculomotor and visual orientation changes.
Main Methods:
- Used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans to study brain activity during a task involving saccades interrupting grasp preparation.
- Participants prepared to grasp an object, then a saccade occurred, followed by the object reappearing with the same or different orientation before movement.
Main Results:
- Right supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and other parietal regions (anterior intraparietal sulcus, superior parietal lobule) showed saccade-specific modulations.
- These regions were sensitive to object orientation changes following saccades, indicating transsaccadic orientation integration.
- SMG exhibited enhanced functional connectivity with prefrontal saccade regions and other parietal grasp regions.
Conclusions:
- Parietal cortex plays a crucial role in integrating visuospatial perturbations, including oculomotor and visual signals, for updating grasp plans.
- Specific cortical modules within the inferior and superior parietal cortex are identified for integrating saccade and visual information to update grasp plans.
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