Spatial organization of precentral cortex in awake primates. I. Somatosensory inputs.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A large population of single units was recorded extracellularly in the precentral forelimb area of awake monkeys (Macaca arctoides]. Single units received information about either cutaneous stimulation (C-neurons), or limb part rotations about joints (J-neurons), or both. Receptive fields (RF) of C-neurons varied in size according to their location at the periphery. Distal limb C-neurons generally had smaller RF than proximal limb C-neurons. Most J-neurons responded to rotation of only a single joint; a small number responded to rotation of 2, but always contiguous, joints. Both C- and J-neurons receiving bilateral inputs were found only in cytoarchitectonic area 6. Cortical neurons with identical peripheral receptive fields, but subserving different sensory modalities, were found in vertically arranged aggregates. When the data was presented on an unfolded precentral cortex, multiple horizontal clusters, each of which consisted of several adjacent vertical aggregates, were revealed. These clusters were irregularly shaped and interleaved with other clusters. Segregation of horizontal clusters in terms of various forelimb joints revealed a nested organization with the proximal joint enclosing a central core of distal joint zones.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: