Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-12-2021
Journal
Current Biology
Volume
31
Issue
7
First Page
1476
Last Page
1487.e5
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.049
Abstract
We can generate goal-directed motor corrections with surprising speed, but their neural basis is poorly understood. Here, we show that temporary cooling of dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) impaired both spatial accuracy and the speed of corrective responses, whereas cooling parietal area 5 (A5) impaired only spatial accuracy. Simulations based on optimal feedback control (OFC) models demonstrated that “deactivation” of the control policy (reduction in feedback gain) and state estimation (reduction in Kalman gain) caused impairments similar to that observed for PMd and A5 cooling, respectively. Furthermore, combined deactivation of both cortical regions led to additive impairments of individual deactivations, whereas reducing the amount of cooling to PMd led to impairments in response speed but not spatial accuracy, both also predicted by OFC models. These results provide causal support that frontoparietal circuits beyond primary somatosensory and motor cortices are involved in generating goal-directed motor corrections.