Somatosensory Responsiveness in Behaving Monkeys and Human Subjects
Abstract
During this first year of USAF grant AFOSR 91-0333, It was determined that: (1) The responsiveness of primary somatosensory (SI) cortical neurons that respond to vibratory go-cues for wrist movement with the greatest fidelity have their activity modulated prior to movement onset. This observation fits with the hypothesis that prior to active movement, sensory inputs that are no longer behaviorally relevant are gated so as not to interfere with monitoring movement parameters by the primate CNS. (2) Previous findings that human subjects acquire a predictable positional target by wrist movements more quickly if vibratory go- cues are presented in addition to visual targets was extending to include unpredictable target locations and movement directions. Equations describing the acquisition of and final performance level during wrist movement tasks were developed. These allow for the prediction of final performance and the time necessary to achieve it from a few days of recorded behavioral performance. The neurophysiological experiments suggest that SI neuronal responsiveness is profoundly influenced by behavioral conditions. The human psychophysical experiments suggest that the adding vibratory go-cues to visual targets may have performance benefits even in more complex control systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 31, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA254784
Entities
People
- Randall J. Nelson
Organizations
- University of Tennessee