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      Area PEc Neurons Use a Multiphasic Pattern of Activity to Signal the Spatial Properties of Optic Flow

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      , , ,
      BioMed Research International
      Hindawi

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          Abstract

          The cortical representation of visual perception requires the integration of several-signal processing distributed across many cortical areas, but the neural substrates of such perception are largely unknown. The type of firing pattern exhibited by single neurons is an important indicator of dynamic circuitry within or across cortical areas. Neurons in area PEc are involved in the spatial mapping of the visual field; thus, we sought to analyze the firing pattern of activity of PEc optic flow neurons to shed some light on the cortical processing of visual signals. We quantified the firing activity of 152 optic flow neurons using a spline interpolation function, which allowed determining onset, end, and latency of each neuronal response. We found that many PEc neurons showed multiphasic activity, which is strictly related to the position of the eye and to the position of the focus of expansion (FOE) of the flow field. PEc neurons showed a multiphasic activity comprised of excitatory phases interspersed with inhibitory pauses. This phasic pattern seems to be a very efficient way to signal the spatial location of visual stimuli, given that the same neuron sends different firing patterns according to a specific combination of FOE/eye position.

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          Most cited references35

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          Parallel organization of functionally segregated circuits linking basal ganglia and cortex.

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            Posterior parietal association cortex of the monkey: command functions for operations within extrapersonal space.

            Experiments were made on the posterior parietal association cortical areas 5 and in 17 hemispheres of 11 monkeys, 6 M. mulatta and 5 M. arctoides. The electrical signs of the activity of single cortical cells were recorded with microelectrodes in waking animals as they carried out certain behavioral acts in response to a series of sensory cues. The behavioral paradigms were one for detection alone, and a second for detection plus projection of the arm to contact a stationary or moving target placed at arm's length. Of the 125 microelectrode penetrations made, 1,451 neurons were identified in terms of the correlation of their activity with the behavioral acts and their sensitivity or lack of it to sensory stimuli delivered passively; 180 were studied quantitatively. The locations of cortical neurons were identified in serial sections; 94 penetrations and 1,058 neurons were located with certainty. About two-thirds of the neurons of area 5 were activated by passive rotation of the limbs at their joints; of these, 82% were related to single, contralateral joints, 10% to two or more contralateral joints, 6% to ipsilateral, and 2% to joints on both sides of the body. A few of the latter were active during complex bodily postures. A large proportion of area 5 neurons were relatively insensitive to passive joint rotations, as compared with similar neurons of the postcentral gyrus, but were driven to high rates of discharge when the same joint was rotated during an active movement of the animal...
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              Projections to the frontal cortex from the posterior parietal region in the rhesus monkey.

              The projections to the frontal cortex from the various subdivisions of the posterior parietal region in the rhesus monkey were studied by means of autoradiographic technique. The rostral superior parietal lobule (area PE) projects to the dorsal areas 4 and 6 on the lateral surface of the frontal lobe as well as to the supplementary motor area (MII) on its medial surface. The caudal area PE sends its connections to dorsal area 6 and MII. The projections from the medial parietal cortex (areas PEc and PGm) are similar to those of the superior parietal lobule but they tend to concentrate in the more rostral part of dorsal area 6, MII, and in the cingulate gyrus (area 24). The most caudal part of the medial parietal cortex also projects to area 8. The anteriormost part of the inferior parietal lobule (area PF) projects to the ventral area 6, including the caudal bank of the lower branch of the arcuate sulcus, to the ventral area 46 below the sulcus principalis, and to the frontal and pericentral opercular cortex. The middle inferior parietal lobule (areas PFG and PG) projects to the ventral part of area 46 and area 8, whilst the posteriormost inferior parietal lobule (caudal PG and area Opt) is connected with both dorsal and ventral area 46, dorsal area 8, as well as the anteriormost dorsal area 6, and the cingulate gyrus (area 24).
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Biomed Res Int
                Biomed Res Int
                BMRI
                BioMed Research International
                Hindawi
                2314-6133
                2314-6141
                2017
                19 November 2017
                : 2017
                : 6495872
                Affiliations
                Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
                Author notes

                Academic Editor: Eiichi Kumamoto

                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7467-5591
                http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5974-0116
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1195-5529
                Article
                10.1155/2017/6495872
                5733201
                a3ee9ec0-0bed-4749-976d-a24af072adae
                Copyright © 2017 Milena Raffi et al.

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 30 March 2017
                : 13 July 2017
                : 12 October 2017
                Funding
                Funded by: Università di Bologna
                Categories
                Research Article

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