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The Journal of Neuroscience, June 11, 2008, 28(24):6128-6140; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1442-08.2008

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Limb-Specific Representation for Reaching in the Posterior Parietal Cortex

Steve W. C. Chang, Anthony R. Dickinson, and Lawrence H. Snyder

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110

Correspondence should be addressed to Steve W. C. Chang, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Box 8108, St. Louis, MO 63110. Email: steve{at}eye-hand.wustl.edu

To reach for something we see, the brain must integrate the target location with the limb to be used for reaching. Neuronal activity in the parietal reach region (PRR) located in the posterior parietal cortex represents targets for reaching. Does this representation depend on the limb to be used? We found a continuum of limb-dependent and limb-independent responses: some neurons represented targets for movements of either limb, whereas others represented only contralateral-limb targets. Only a few cells represented ipsilateral-limb targets. Furthermore, these representations were not dependent on preferred direction. Additional experiments provide evidence that the PRR is specifically involved in contralateral-limb movements: firing rates are correlated with contralateral- but not ipsilateral-limb reaction times. The current study therefore provides novel evidence that the PRR operates as a limb-dependent stage that lies further along the sensory–motor transformation for visually guided reaching than previously expected.

Key words: posterior parietal cortex; motor planning; parietal reach region; monkey; electrophysiology; spatial processing

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Received Dec. 26, 2007; revised April 30, 2007; accepted May 1, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to Steve W. C. Chang, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Box 8108, St. Louis, MO 63110. Email: steve{at}eye-hand.wustl.edu

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				S. M. Beurze, F. P. de Lange, I. Toni, and W. P. Medendorp Spatial and Effector Processing in the Human Parietofrontal Network for Reaches and Saccades J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2009; 101(6): 3053 - 3062. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Vesia, X. Yan, D. Y. Henriques, L. E. Sergio, and J. D. Crawford Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Over Human Dorsal-Lateral Posterior Parietal Cortex Disrupts Integration of Hand Position Signals Into the Reach Plan J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2008; 100(4): 2005 - 2014. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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