Dataset Information

Idiosyncratic and systematic aspects of spatial representations in the macaque parietal cortex.

ABSTRACT: The sensorimotor transformations for visually guided reaching were originally thought to take place in a series of discrete transitions from one systematic frame of reference to the next with neurons coding location relative to the fixation position (gaze-centered) in occipital and posterior parietal areas, relative to the shoulder in dorsal premotor cortex, and in muscle- or joint-based coordinates in motor output neurons. Recent empirical and theoretical work has suggested that spatial encodings that use a range of idiosyncratic representations may increase computational power and flexibility. We now show that neurons in the parietal reach region use nonuniform and idiosyncratic frames of reference. We also show that these nonsystematic reference frames coexist with a systematic compound gain field that modulates activity proportional to the distance between the eyes and the hand. Thus, systematic and idiosyncratic signals may coexist within individual neurons.

SUBMITTER: Chang SW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2867917 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Idiosyncratic and systematic aspects of spatial representations in the macaque parietal cortex.

Chang Steve W C SW Snyder Lawrence H LH

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20100407 17

The sensorimotor transformations for visually guided reaching were originally thought to take place in a series of discrete transitions from one systematic frame of reference to the next with neurons coding location relative to the fixation position (gaze-centered) in occipital and posterior parietal areas, relative to the shoulder in dorsal premotor cortex, and in muscle- or joint-based coordinates in motor output neurons. Recent empirical and theoretical work has suggested that spatial encodin ...[more]

PMID: 20375282

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Dataset Information

Idiosyncratic and systematic aspects of spatial representations in the macaque parietal cortex.

Publications

Idiosyncratic and systematic aspects of spatial representations in the macaque parietal cortex.

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