September 23, 2004: Neural Control of Coordinated Action

For a copy of the symposium poster, click here.

Speakers:

• Edward Freedman, Ph.D., Head-eye interactions during visual orienting movements
• Greg Gdowski, Ph.D., The vestibulospinal pathways and their roles in controlling head movements
• Martha Johnson Gdowski, Ph.D., Diversity of signaling patterns of neurons in the globus pallidus
• Daeyeol Lee, Ph.D., Coding of behavioral context in the supplementary motor area
• Jonathan Mink, M.D., Ph.D., Basal Ganglia Output Activity in Parkinsonism and Dystonia
• Marc Schieber, M.D., Ph.D., A role for the premotor cortex in lateralized choices of gaze, hand and target
• Andrew B. Schwartz, Ph.D., Useful signals from motor cortex
• John F. Kalaska, Ph.D. (University of Montreal), Single-Neuron Correlates of Overt and Covert Decision-Making Processes in Primate Dorsal Premotor Cortex
• David L. Sparks, Ph.D. (Division of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX), The reliability of oculomotor command signals carried by individual neurons
• W. Thomas Thach, Ph.D. (Department Anatomy and Neurobiology, Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis), A cerebellar role in learning eye-hand coordination: Memory storage site, and performance error--"teacher" signals

Overview: Accomplishment of daily tasks depends upon interactions between individuals and their environment. These interactions require sensory processing leading to perception, and the development of internal representations of the external world by combining sensory information with cognitive processes like memory and attention. However, these high level processes are not the only end-point of sensory and cognitive processing. Information about the world must also be processed in order to produce behavior: coordinated motor acts. These actions form the basis for nearly all critical functions of living organisms: orientation, navigation, interaction with objects in the environment, communication. The control of movement, the integration of sensory information and the transformations required for coordination of complex behaviors, and mechanisms implemented by structures in the brainstem, cerebellum, cortex and basal ganglia in mediating these processes are critical functions of the healthy nervous system and often present the most debilitating deficits when lost due to neural damage or disease.

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