Cortical populations and behaviour: Hebb's thread

This paper discusses work on the function of the motor cortex as revealed b y single cell recordings in monkeys and artificial neural network modelling . Our key conceptual approach both in behavioural neuroscience and neural n etwork modeling of motor cortical function relies on reconstructing, visual izing, and modelling the activity in neuronal populations, indeed a key con cept advanced by Hebb (1949). The behaviour investigated ranges from exerti on of isometric force to pointing movements to complex cognitive processing . The functional properties of single cells with respect to the direction o f movement in space are described as well as a population code which provid es a unique measure for this direction. Finally, the results of modeling st udies are discussed in which directional population activity is used as an input to an artificial neural network to drive a simulated arm.