Object Affordance Modulates Visual Responses in the Macaque Medial Posterior Parietal Cortex

Breveglieri, Rossella; Galletti, Claudio; Bosco, Annalisa; Gamberini, Michela; Fattori, Patrizia

doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00793

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…1B , Constant-gaze reaching task). Keeping the fixation point constant allowed constant vergence and version eye signals and precluded cell responses resulting from the eye vergence and version signals, known to affect V6A neural discharges 52 60 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reference frames for reaching when decoupling eye and target position in depth and direction

Bosco

Breveglieri

Hadjidimitrakis

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Spatial representations in cortical areas involved in reaching movements were traditionally studied in a frontoparallel plane where the two-dimensional target location and the movement direction were the only variables to consider in neural computations. No studies so far have characterized the reference frames for reaching considering both depth and directional signals. Here we recorded from single neurons of the medial posterior parietal area V6A during a reaching task where fixation point and reaching targets were decoupled in direction and depth. We found a prevalent mixed encoding of target position, with eye-centered and spatiotopic representations differently balanced in the same neuron. Depth was stronger in defining the reference frame of eye-centered cells, while direction was stronger in defining that of spatiotopic cells. The predominant presence of various typologies of mixed encoding suggests that depth and direction signals are processed on the basis of flexible coordinate systems to ensure optimal motor response.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reference frames for reaching when decoupling eye and target position in depth and direction

Bosco

Breveglieri

Hadjidimitrakis

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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“…In other words, the orientation of an object informs the grasp that needs to be planned. Regions within the parietal lobe, integral to reaching and grasping movements, show selectivity for the size, shape and orientation of an object both during fixation and grasping movements (Taira et al, 1990 ; Gallese et al, 1994 ; Murata et al, 2000 ; Fattori et al, 2009 , 2010 , 2012 ; Breveglieri et al, 2015 ), suggesting these areas play a key role in the integration of visual and motor information and object affordances. Therefore, orientation is a feature necessary to grasp objects accurately and is processed within the fronto-parietal grasping network, especially within area AIP.…”

Section: Affordancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Eye in the Palm of Your Hand: Alterations in Visual Processing Near the Hand, a Mini-Review

Perry

Amarasooriya

Fallah

2016

Front. Comput. Neurosci.

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Feedback within the oculomotor system improves visual processing at eye movement end points, also termed a visual grasp. We do not just view the world around us however, we also reach out and grab things with our hands. A growing body of literature suggests that visual processing in near-hand space is altered. The control systems for moving either the eyes or the hands rely on parallel networks of fronto-parietal regions, which have feedback connections to visual areas. Since the oculomotor system effects on visual processing occur through feedback, both through the motor plan and the motor efference copy, a parallel system where reaching and/or grasping motor-related activity also affects visual processing is likely. Areas in the posterior parietal cortex, for example, receive proprioceptive and visual information used to guide actions, as well as motor efference signals. This trio of information channels is all that would be necessary to produce spatial allocation of reach-related visual attention. We review evidence from behavioral and neurophysiological studies that support the hypothesis that feedback from the reaching and/or grasping motor control networks affects visual processing while noting ways in which it differs from that seen within the oculomotor system. We also suggest that object affordances may represent the neural mechanism through which certain object features are selected for preferential processing when stimuli are near the hand. Finally, we summarize the two effector-based feedback systems and discuss how having separate but parallel effector systems allows for efficient decoupling of eye and hand movements.

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“…Thanks to a systematic accumulation of evidence in studies where single-unit recordings were performed during the execution of appropriate visuomotor tasks, V6A neurons have been demonstrated to express several properties which are perfectly suitable for encoding and orchestrating prehension 4 . In particular, in addition to expressing selectivity in the visuospatial 5 – 9 and somatosensory 10 , 11 domains, V6A neurons were shown to encode visual affordances 12 and motor cues that allow monitoring direction of arm reaching and shaping of hand/grip configuration for grasping movements 4 , 13 – 19 . Critically, while the dorsomedial visual pathway has long been known to support encoding of reaching movements 8 , 14 , 20 – 31 , a role of this pathway in encoding grasping movements has been more recently acknowledged.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparatory activity for purposeful arm movements in the dorsomedial parietal area V6A: Beyond the online guidance of movement

Santandrea

Breveglieri

Bosco

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Over the years, electrophysiological recordings in macaque monkeys performing visuomotor tasks brought about accumulating evidence for the expression of neuronal properties (e.g., selectivity in the visuospatial and somatosensory domains, encoding of visual affordances and motor cues) in the posterior parietal area V6A that characterize it as an ideal neural substrate for online control of prehension. Interestingly, neuroimaging studies suggested a role of putative human V6A also in action preparation; moreover, pre-movement population activity in monkey V6A has been recently shown to convey grip-related information for upcoming grasping. Here we directly test whether macaque V6A neurons encode preparatory signals that effectively differentiate between dissimilar actions before movement. We recorded the activity of single V6A neurons during execution of two visuomotor tasks requiring either reach-to-press or reach-to-grasp movements in different background conditions, and described the nature and temporal dynamics of V6A activity preceding movement execution. We found striking consistency in neural discharges measured during pre-movement and movement epochs, suggesting that the former is a preparatory activity exquisitely linked to the subsequent execution of particular motor actions. These findings strongly support a role of V6A beyond the online guidance of movement, with preparatory activity implementing suitable motor programs that subsequently support action execution.

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Object Affordance Modulates Visual Responses in the Macaque Medial Posterior Parietal Cortex

Cited by 24 publications

References 46 publications

Reference frames for reaching when decoupling eye and target position in depth and direction

Reference frames for reaching when decoupling eye and target position in depth and direction

An Eye in the Palm of Your Hand: Alterations in Visual Processing Near the Hand, a Mini-Review

Preparatory activity for purposeful arm movements in the dorsomedial parietal area V6A: Beyond the online guidance of movement

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