Changes in Somatosensory Responsiveness in Behaving Monkeys and Human Subjects
Abstract
Four goals were accomplished. 1) Reaction time (RTs) of monkeys and human subjects were determined for ballistic wrist flexion and extension movement made in response to visual and vibratory stimuli. 2) RTs were determined for human subjects who made wrist movements to a target after these two types of sensory stimuli were presented. 3) The relationships between the sensory responsiveness of monkey primary somatosensory cortical (SI) neurons and the magnitude of the premovement activity of these neurons were analyzed. 4) The premovement activity of non-stimulus related SI neurons was recorded to determine if the magnitude of this activity under two behavioral conditions was the same. The RT experiments indicated that humans and monkeys make movements more quickly (50-100 msec) in response to vibratory as compared to visual signals. The neurophysiological experiments suggest that sensory input to SI neurons is gated during behavior in regions of SI but not in others. Quantitative estimates of this gating under different behavioral circumstances are provided. Equations are described which predict the magnitude of the premovement activity during vibratory triggered trials from the vibratory responsiveness of the neurons and the amount of premovement activity exhibit in visually cued trials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 25, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA212093
Entities
People
- Randall J. Nelson
Organizations
- University of Tennessee