Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Coding of intention in the posterior parietal cortex

L H Snyder1, A P Batista, R A Andersen

  • 1Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125, USA.

Nature
|March 13, 1997
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Distinct neural modes carry information about grasp force and phase in the sensorimotor cortex.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Quantifying physical degradation alongside recording and stimulation performance of 980 intracortical microelectrodes chronically implanted in three humans for 956-2246 days.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2024
Same author

Neural subspaces of imagined movements in parietal cortex remain stable over several years in humans.

Journal of neural engineering·2024
Same author

A theory of brain-computer interface learning via low-dimensional control.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2024
Same author

Neural subspaces of imagined movements in parietal cortex remain stable over several years in humans.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2023
Same author

Bis-cyclooctatetraenyl Thulium(II): Highly Reducing Lanthanide Sandwich Single Molecule Magnets.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2022

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) transforms visual information into motor plans. Neuronal activity in the PPC depends on the specific movement (reach or saccade) being planned, indicating it encodes movement intentions.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is strategically located between visual and motor areas, suggesting a role in transforming visual information into motor commands.
  • The PPC is traditionally viewed as a high-order sensory area, with subdivisions like area 7a and the lateral intraparietal area showing activity related to visually guided movements.
  • Neuronal activity in the PPC during memory-guided tasks has been ambiguous, potentially reflecting either visual attention or movement intention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether neuronal activity in the PPC reflects general movement planning or specific movement intentions.
  • To differentiate between visual attention and motor planning signals within the PPC.
  • To determine if PPC activity encodes the intention to make a specific type of movement (reach vs. saccade).

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings were conducted in the PPC of monkeys.
  • Monkeys were trained to plan either a reach or a saccade to a single remembered target location.
  • Neuronal activity was recorded while monkeys planned these distinct movements.

Main Results:

  • The study found that for the majority of recorded neurons, activity preceding movement execution varied based on the type of movement being planned (reach or saccade).
  • This differential activity suggests that the PPC is not merely processing general spatial information but is encoding specific motor intentions.
  • The findings provide evidence that PPC neurons distinguish between planning a reach and planning a saccade.

Conclusions:

  • The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) contains neural signals that are specific to the intended motor action.
  • PPC activity reflects the intention to perform a particular movement, rather than just general visual attention or spatial processing.
  • These findings advance our understanding of how the brain plans and prepares for goal-directed movements.