D. Flament et al., DISTANCE-RELATED AND ERROR-RELATED DISCHARGE OF CELLS IN PREMOTOR CORTEX OF RHESUS-MONKEYS, Neuroscience letters, 153(2), 1993, pp. 144-148
Previous work on the premotor cortex has emphasized its role in prepar
ation for movement. In this study, we concentrated on the activity tha
t occurs during a movement, particularly when the required movement am
plitude is unexpectedly changed by introduction of a visuo-spatial err
or. In two rhesus monkeys, discharge of premotor neurons was recorded
during a multi-joint reaching movement. Units could be divided into tw
o categories: (1) those whose discharge monotonically increased or dec
reased with movement amplitude; and (2) those whose discharge was modu
lated with the unexpected change in amplitude but not monotonically. W
e suggest that the latter class of cells may be detecting or respondin
g to a visuo-motor error. Thus, the premotor cortex is not only involv
ed in preparation but plays a role in the ongoing control of movement
execution.