Proactive planning of action sequences

by Laura Hansmeyer
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2024-02-13
Date of issue:2024-07-05
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Alexander Gail
Referee:Prof. Dr. Alexander Gail
Referee:Prof. Dr. Florentin Wörgötter
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-10591

 

 

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Abstract

English

Everyday tasks often require a sequence of actions. Knowing which actions will follow, allows us to proactively prepare for subsequent actions before the first action has been executed. This thesis investigated the neural correlates of proactive movement planning for a sequence of actions. Neural activity was recorded from regions within the fronto-parietal reach network in rhesus macaques while the animals performed two types of action sequences: one in which all reach targets were known from the beginning, and one in which future reach targets were revealed sequentially after completing each action. Animals exhibited faster reaction times for future actions when all targets were known from the beginning, suggesting proactive planning. Neuronal recordings revealed that activity in both the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and the parietal reach region (PRR) reflects future reach targets before the onset of the first action. As a step towards studying more naturalistic behaviors, we developed a new setup enabling electrophysiological recordings combined with cognitive testing while the animals can remain in their home enclosure. The results presented in this thesis were obtained using this new setup. To extend these findings, a similar experiment was conducted with human subjects. The data indicate that both rhesus macaques and humans exhibit comparable behaviors during the execution of action sequences.
Keywords: cognitive neuroscience; movement planning; rhesus macaque
 
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