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Brain Structure & Function Dec 2019Evidence is provided for a new conceptualization of the connectivity and functions of the cingulate cortex in emotion, action, and memory. The anterior cingulate cortex... (Review)
Review
Evidence is provided for a new conceptualization of the connectivity and functions of the cingulate cortex in emotion, action, and memory. The anterior cingulate cortex receives information from the orbitofrontal cortex about reward and non-reward outcomes. The posterior cingulate cortex receives spatial and action-related information from parietal cortical areas. It is argued that these inputs allow the cingulate cortex to perform action-outcome learning, with outputs from the midcingulate motor area to premotor areas. In addition, because the anterior cingulate cortex connects rewards to actions, it is involved in emotion; and because the posterior cingulate cortex has outputs to the hippocampal system, it is involved in memory. These apparently multiple different functions of the cingulate cortex are related to the place of this proisocortical limbic region in brain connectivity.
Topics: Animals; Emotions; Gyrus Cinguli; Humans; Limbic System; Memory; Motor Activity; Neural Pathways; Reward
PubMed: 31451898
DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01945-2 -
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews.... Jan 2017This article reviews research on the development of motor behavior from a developmental systems perspective. We focus on infancy when basic action systems are acquired.... (Review)
Review
This article reviews research on the development of motor behavior from a developmental systems perspective. We focus on infancy when basic action systems are acquired. Posture provides a stable base for locomotion, manual actions, and facial actions. Experience facilitates improvements in motor behavior and infants accumulate immense amounts of experience with all of their basic action systems. At every point in development, perception guides motor behavior by providing feedback about the results of just prior movements and information about what to do next. Reciprocally, the development of motor behavior provides fodder for perception. More generally, motor development brings about new opportunities for acquiring knowledge about the world, and burgeoning motor skills can instigate cascades of developmental changes in perceptual, cognitive, and social domains. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1430. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1430 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Topics: Child; Child Development; Humans; Locomotion; Motor Activity; Postural Balance; Psychology, Child; Psychomotor Performance; Reflex; Tool Use Behavior
PubMed: 27906517
DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1430 -
Annual Review of Psychology Jan 2019Motor development and psychological development are fundamentally related, but researchers typically consider them separately. In this review, we present four key... (Review)
Review
Motor development and psychological development are fundamentally related, but researchers typically consider them separately. In this review, we present four key features of infant motor development and show that motor skill acquisition both requires and reflects basic psychological functions. ( a) Motor development is embodied: Opportunities for action depend on the current status of the body. ( b) Motor development is embedded: Variations in the environment create and constrain possibilities for action. ( c) Motor development is enculturated: Social and cultural influences shape motor behaviors. ( d) Motor development is enabling: New motor skills create new opportunities for exploration and learning that instigate cascades of development across diverse psychological domains. For each of these key features, we show that changes in infants' bodies, environments, and experiences entail behavioral flexibility and are thus essential to psychology. Moreover, we suggest that motor development is an ideal model system for the study of psychological development.
Topics: Child Development; Culture; Exploratory Behavior; Humans; Infant; Infant Behavior; Learning; Motor Activity; Motor Skills
PubMed: 30256718
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102836 -
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Feb 2020Research in the last decade has undermined the idea of perception as a continuous process, providing strong empirical support for its rhythmic modulation. More recently,... (Review)
Review
Research in the last decade has undermined the idea of perception as a continuous process, providing strong empirical support for its rhythmic modulation. More recently, it has been revealed that the ongoing motor processes influence the rhythmic sampling of sensory information. In this review, we will focus on a growing body of evidence suggesting that oscillation-based mechanisms may structure the dynamic interplay between the motor and sensory system and provide a unified temporal frame for their effective coordination. We will describe neurophysiological data, primarily collected in animals, showing phase-locking of neuronal oscillations to the onset of (eye) movements. These data are complemented by novel evidence in humans, which demonstrate the behavioral relevance of these oscillatory modulations and their domain-general nature. Finally, we will discuss the possible implications of these modulations for action-perception coupling mechanisms.
Topics: Animals; Brain Waves; Eye Movements; Humans; Motor Activity; Periodicity; Psychomotor Performance; Visual Perception
PubMed: 31210564
DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01436 -
Trends in Neurosciences Apr 2017Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies in humans have shown that many behaviors engage processes that suppress excitability within the corticospinal tract.... (Review)
Review
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies in humans have shown that many behaviors engage processes that suppress excitability within the corticospinal tract. Inhibition of the motor output pathway has been extensively studied in the context of action stopping, where a planned movement needs to be abruptly aborted. Recent TMS work has also revealed markers of motor inhibition during the preparation of movement. Here, we review the evidence for motor inhibition during action stopping and action preparation, focusing on studies that have used TMS to monitor changes in the excitability of the corticospinal pathway. We discuss how these physiological results have motivated theoretical models of how the brain selects actions, regulates movement initiation and execution, and switches from one state to another.
Topics: Humans; Inhibition, Psychological; Motor Activity; Pyramidal Tracts; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
PubMed: 28341235
DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2017.02.006 -
Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and... Oct 2015Dexterous action, as conceptualized by Bernstein in his influential ecological analysis of human behavior, is revealed in the ability to flexibly generate behaviors that... (Review)
Review
Dexterous action, as conceptualized by Bernstein in his influential ecological analysis of human behavior, is revealed in the ability to flexibly generate behaviors that are adaptively tailored to the demands of the context in which they are embedded. Conceived as complex adaptive behavior, dexterity depends upon the qualities of robustness and degeneracy, and is supported by the functional complexity of the agent-environment system. Using Bernstein's and Gibson's ecological analyses of behavior situated in natural environments as conceptual touchstones, we consider the hypothesis that complex adaptive behavior capitalizes upon general principles of self-organization. Here, we outline a perspective in which the complex interactivity of nervous-system, body, and environment is revealed as an essential resource for adaptive behavior. From this perspective, we consider the implications for interpreting the functionality and dysfunctionality of human behavior. This paper demonstrates that, optimal variability, the topic of this special issue, is a logical consequence of interpreting the functionality of human behavior as complex adaptive behavior.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Biomechanical Phenomena; Environment; Humans; Motor Activity; Nonlinear Dynamics
PubMed: 26375932
DOI: No ID Found -
Developmental Psychobiology May 2015Some of the most simple, stereotyped, reflexive, and spinal-mediated motor behaviors expressed by animals display a level of flexibility and plasticity that is not... (Review)
Review
Some of the most simple, stereotyped, reflexive, and spinal-mediated motor behaviors expressed by animals display a level of flexibility and plasticity that is not always recognized. We discuss several examples of how coordinated action patterns have been shown to be flexible and adaptive in response to sensory feedback. We focus on interlimb and intralimb coordination during the expression of two action patterns (stepping and the leg extension response) in newborn rats, as well as interlimb motor learning. We also discuss the idea that the spinal cord is a major site for supporting plasticity in the developing motor system. An implication of this research is that normally occurring sensory stimulation during the perinatal period influences the typical development and expression of action patterns, and that exploiting the developmental plasticity of the motor system may lead to improved strategies for promoting recovery of function in human infants with motor disorders.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal; Electromyography; Learning; Motor Activity; Neuronal Plasticity; Rats
PubMed: 25739742
DOI: 10.1002/dev.21280 -
Journal of Neurophysiology Mar 2017It has been long known that neural activity, recorded with electrophysiological methods, contains rich information about a subject's motor intentions, sensory... (Review)
Review
It has been long known that neural activity, recorded with electrophysiological methods, contains rich information about a subject's motor intentions, sensory experiences, allocation of attention, action planning, and even abstract thoughts. All these functions have been the subject of neurophysiological investigations, with the goal of understanding how neuronal activity represents behavioral parameters, sensory inputs, and cognitive functions. The field of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) strives for a somewhat different goal: it endeavors to extract information from neural modulations to create a communication link between the brain and external devices. Although many remarkable successes have been already achieved in the BMI field, questions remain regarding the possibility of decoding high-order neural representations, such as decision making. Could BMIs be employed to decode the neural representations of decisions underlying goal-directed actions? In this review we lay out a framework that describes the computations underlying goal-directed actions as a multistep process performed by multiple cortical and subcortical areas. We then discuss how BMIs could connect to different decision-making steps and decode the neural processing ongoing before movements are initiated. Such decision-making BMIs could operate as a system with prediction that offers many advantages, such as shorter reaction time, better error processing, and improved unsupervised learning. To present the current state of the art, we review several recent BMIs incorporating decision-making components.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain-Computer Interfaces; Decision Making; Feedback, Sensory; Humans; Motor Activity
PubMed: 28003406
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00051.2016 -
NeuroImage Mar 2020Action Execution (AE) and Action Observation (AO) share an extended cortical network of activated areas. During coordinative action these processes also overlap in time,...
Action Execution (AE) and Action Observation (AO) share an extended cortical network of activated areas. During coordinative action these processes also overlap in time, potentially giving rise to behavioral interference effects. The neurophysiological mechanisms subtending the interaction between concurrent AE and AO are substantially unknown. To assess the effect of AO on observer's corticomotor drive, we run one electromyography (EMG) and three Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) studies. Participants were requested to maintain a steady hand opening or closing posture while observing the same or a different action (hand opening and closing in the main TMS study). By measuring Cortical Silent Periods (CSP), an index of GABA-mediated corticospinal inhibitory strength, we show a selective reduction of inhibitory motor drive for mismatching AE-AO pairs. The last two TMS experiments, show that this mismatch is computed according to a muscle-level agonist-antagonist representation. Combined, our results suggest that corticospinal inhibition may be the central neurophysiological mechanism by which one's own motor execution is adapted to the contextual visual cues provided by other's actions.
Topics: Adult; Electromyography; Female; Hand; Humans; Inhibition, Psychological; Male; Motor Activity; Motor Cortex; Muscle, Skeletal; Neural Inhibition; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Visual Perception; Young Adult
PubMed: 31821866
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116445 -
Cerebellum (London, England) Dec 2018The climbing fiber-Purkinje cell circuit is one of the most powerful and highly conserved in the central nervous system. Climbing fibers exert a powerful excitatory... (Review)
Review
The climbing fiber-Purkinje cell circuit is one of the most powerful and highly conserved in the central nervous system. Climbing fibers exert a powerful excitatory action that results in a complex spike in Purkinje cells and normal functioning of the cerebellum depends on the integrity of climbing fiber-Purkinje cell synapse. Over the last 50 years, multiple hypotheses have been put forward on the role of the climbing fibers and complex spikes in cerebellar information processing and motor control. Central to these theories is the nature of the interaction between the low-frequency complex spike discharge and the high-frequency simple spike firing of Purkinje cells. This review examines the major hypotheses surrounding the action of the climbing fiber-Purkinje cell projection, discussing both supporting and conflicting findings. The review describes newer findings establishing that climbing fibers and complex spikes provide predictive signals about movement parameters and that climbing fiber input controls the encoding of behavioral information in the simple spike firing of Purkinje cells. Finally, we propose the dynamic encoding hypothesis for complex spike function that strives to integrate established and newer findings.
Topics: Action Potentials; Animals; Models, Neurological; Motor Activity; Olivary Nucleus; Purkinje Cells
PubMed: 29982917
DOI: 10.1007/s12311-018-0960-3