Different population dynamics in the supplementary motor area and motor cortex during reaching.

ABSTRACT: Neural populations perform computations through their collective activity. Different computations likely require different population-level dynamics. We leverage this assumption to examine neural responses recorded from the supplementary motor area (SMA) and motor cortex. During visually guided reaching, the respective roles of these areas remain unclear; neurons in both areas exhibit preparation-related activity and complex patterns of movement-related activity. To explore population dynamics, we employ a novel "hypothesis-guided" dimensionality reduction approach. This approach reveals commonalities but also stark differences: linear population dynamics, dominated by rotations, are prominent in motor cortex but largely absent in SMA. In motor cortex, the observed dynamics produce pattern

SUBMITTER: Lara AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6048147 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature