Modulations in Oscillatory Activity of Globus Pallidus Internus Neurons During a Directed Hand Movement Task-A Primary Mechanism for Motor Planning

• Authors: Shreya Saxena, Columbia University; Sridevi V. Sarma, Johns Hopkins University; Shaun R. Patel, Harvard Medical School; Sabato Santaniello, University of Connecticut; Emad N. Eskandar, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; John T. Gale, Emory University
• Journal Title: Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
• Volume: Volume 13
• Publisher: Frontiers Media | 2019-04-30, Pages 15-15
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2019.00015
• Subjects: Biology, Neuroscience; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Neurosciences; Neurosciences & Neurology; basal ganglia; globus pallidus internus (GPi); beta-band; motor control; movement planning; LOCAL-FIELD POTENTIALS; EVENT-RELATED DESYNCHRONIZATION/SYNCHRONIZATION; NEURAL SPIKING ACTIVITY; BASAL GANGLIA; SUBTHALAMIC NUCLEUS; PARKINSONIAN-PATIENTS; MPTP MODEL; CORTEX; DISCHARGE; EEG

Abstract

Globus pallidus internus (GPi) neurons in the basal ganglia are traditionally thought to play a significant role in the promotion and suppression of movement via a change in firing rates. Here, we hypothesize that a primary mechanism of movement control by GPi neurons is through specific modulations in their oscillatory patterns. We analyzed neuronal spiking activity of 83 GPi neurons recorded from two healthy nonhuman primates executing a radial center-out motor task. We found that, in directionally tuned neurons, the power in the gamma band is significantly (p < 0.05) greater than that in the beta band (a “cross-over” effect), during the planning stages of movements in their preferred direction. This cross-over effect is not observed in the non-directionally tuned neurons. These data suggest that, during movement planning, information encoding by GPi neurons may be governed by a sudden emergence and suppression of oscillatory activities, rather than simply by a change in average firing rates.