title: Motor cortex guides selection of predictable movement targets.
abstract: The present paper asks whether the motor cortex contributes to prediction-based guidance of target selection. This question was inspired by recent evidence that suggests (i) recurrent connections from the motor system into the attentional system may extract movement-relevant perceptual information and (ii) that the motor cortex cannot only generate predictions of the sensory consequences of movements but may also operate as predictor of perceptual events in general. To test this idea we employed a choice reaching task requiring participants to rapidly reach and touch a predictable or unpredictable colour target. Motor cortex activity was modulated via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). In Experiment 1 target colour repetitions were predictable. Under such conditions anodal tDCS facilitated selection versus sham and cathodal tDCS. This improvement was apparent for trajectory curvature but not movement initiation. Conversely, where no predictability of colour was embedded reach performance was unaffected by tDCS. Finally, the results of a key-press experiment suggested that motor cortex involvement is restricted to tasks where the predictable target colour is movement-relevant. The outcomes are interpreted as evidence that the motor system contributes to the top-down guidance of selective attention to movement targets.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: pjw081@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Philip J W
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Woodgate
authors.affiliation: Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: soestra@yahoo.de.
authors.forename: Soeren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Brain Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: ssa42@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Saber A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sami
authors.affiliation: Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: d.g.heinke@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heinke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Choice reaching task; Motor cortex; Predictability; Target selection; tDCS
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e36220
references.pmid: 22563485
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2003 May 15;15(4):619-26
references.pmid: 12803972
references.citation: J Vis. 2006 Aug 30;6(9):982-95
references.pmid: 17083290
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2011 Dec;106(6):3001-9
references.pmid: 21880940
references.citation: Vision Res. 2008 Mar;48(7):853-61
references.pmid: 18262583
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2013 Jan 23;33(4):1400-10
references.pmid: 23345216
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2009 Sep 29;19(18):1581-5
references.pmid: 19747828
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Feb 3;106(5):1590-5
references.pmid: 19164589
references.citation: Atten Percept Psychophys. 2010 Jan;72(1):5-18
references.pmid: 20045875
references.citation: Neurology. 2001 Nov 27;57(10):1899-901
references.pmid: 11723286
references.citation: J Physiol. 2009 Jun 15;587(Pt 12):2949-61
references.pmid: 19403605
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2011 Jun;105(6):2891-6
references.pmid: 21490286
references.citation: J Vis. 2007 Mar 20;7(5):2.1-9
references.pmid: 18217842
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Sep 17;28(38):9545-56
references.pmid: 18799686
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2002 Apr;15(4):787-96
references.pmid: 11906220
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 May;11(5):211-8
references.pmid: 17383218
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2011;62:73-101
references.pmid: 19575619
references.citation: Psychol Res. 2009 Mar;73(2):167-76
references.pmid: 19082623
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 2014 May;35(5):2220-32
references.pmid: 23913800
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2013 Aug;110(4):807-16
references.pmid: 23699052
references.citation: Annu Rev Neurosci. 2010;33:89-108
references.pmid: 20367317
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2012 Dec;16(12):606-17
references.pmid: 23141428
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2011 Aug;21(8):1761-70
references.pmid: 21139077
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2007 Sep 12;27(37):9975-83
references.pmid: 17855611
references.citation: J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2010 Oct;36(5):1108-27
references.pmid: 20718568
references.citation: Front Hum Neurosci. 2013 Aug 02;7:404
references.pmid: 23935573
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2008 May 20;18(10):775-80
references.pmid: 18485711
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2011 Aug 24;31(34):12377-84
references.pmid: 21865480
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2010 Apr 14;30(15):5384-93
references.pmid: 20392960
references.citation: Neurobiol Aging. 2010 Dec;31(12):2160-8
references.pmid: 19201066
references.citation: Front Psychol. 2012 Apr 17;3:105
references.pmid: 22529827
references.citation: Neuron. 2011 Nov 3;72(3):477-87
references.pmid: 22078507
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 20;108(51):E1433-40
references.pmid: 22123965
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2014 Mar 12;34(11):3982-92
references.pmid: 24623776
references.citation: J Vis. 2012 Sep 29;12(10):null
references.pmid: 23024358
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2009 Sep 14;202(2):147-52
references.pmid: 19463695
references.citation: Nature. 2009 Sep 10;461(7261):263-6
references.pmid: 19693010
references.citation: Mem Cognit. 1994 Nov;22(6):657-72
references.pmid: 7808275
references.citation: Vision Res. 2010 Jun 1;50(11):999-1013
references.pmid: 20219518
references.citation: Psychol Res. 2001;65(1):3-14
references.pmid: 11505611
references.citation: Neuron. 2010 Feb 25;65(4):461-71
references.pmid: 20188651