Citation

Seki K, Fetz EE. J. Neurosci. 2012; 32(3): 890-902.

Affiliation

Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8502, Japan, Department of Developmental Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Aichi 444-8585, Japan, PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan, and Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7290.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Society for Neuroscience)

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4958-11.2012

PMID

22262887

PMCID

PMC3293372

Abstract

All bodily movements stimulate peripheral receptors that activate neurons in the brain and spinal cord through afferent feedback. How these reafferent signals are processed within the CNS during movement is a key question in motor control. We investigated cutaneous sensory-evoked potentials in the spinal cord, primary somatosensory and motor cortex, and premotor cortex in monkeys performing an instructed delay task. Afferent inputs from cutaneous receptors were suppressed at several levels in a task-dependent manner. We found two types of suppression. First, suppression during active limb movement was observed in the spinal cord and all three cortical areas. This suppression was induced by both bottom-up and top-down gating mechanisms. Second, during preparation for upcoming movement, evoked responses were suppressed exclusively in the motor cortical areas and the magnitude of suppression was correlated with the reaction time of the subsequent movement. This suppression could be induced by a top-down gating mechanism to facilitate the preparation and execution of upcoming movement.

Language: en