title: Task-dependent selectivity of movement-related neuronal activity in the primate prefrontal cortex.
abstract: Task-dependent selectivity of movement-related neuronal activity in the primate prefrontal cortex. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 3392-3397, 1998. We studied movement-related neuronal activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex from the perspective of a general role for the prefrontal cortex in controlling motor behavior to achieve a specific goal according to the requirements of a given task. Monkeys were trained to perform two delayed motor tasks. The first task involved reaching for a target that matched the shape of a cue. The second task involved reaching for a target that matched the location of the cue. A majority (54%) of 175 movement-related prefrontal neurons exhibited preference for either the target shape or the type of task requirements. Sixty-four neurons (36%) were selectively active while reaching for a circle or a triangle. On the other hand, the activity of 59 neurons (34%) depended on whether the task required matching the shape or the location. These properties, characterizing the movement-related neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex, rarely were found in the arm area of the primary motor cortex. Only 1 of 130 movement-related neurons (0.8%) showed task selectivity, and none showed target-shape selectivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoshi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shima
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tanji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D004576:Electromyography; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008251:Macaca; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*