Evaluations of combined premotor and supplementary motor cortex lesions on a visually guided arm movement

The kinematics of a visually guided, multi-joint arm movement were examined before and after combined bilateral premotor and supplementary motor cortex lesions. Two rhesus monkeys were trained to move a manipulandum from a start zone to one of three equally spaced target zones and then return to the initial start zone. Various features of the movement trajectory including space error, time error, peak velocity and turnaround time were quantified and analyzed before and after the premotor and supplementary motor cortex ablations. Statistical analysis showed no major differences in the trajectories toward or away from the target between the pre- and postlesion state. The major difference following the ablation was an increase in the time spent in the target zone, reflecting an increase in time spent in redirecting the trajectory. Normalization of the movement duration revealed a slight delay in the initial part of the movement. These results suggest the premotor and supplementary motor cortex are involved in redirecting the trajectory and/or obtaining the target zone during the execution of a complex movement.