Department of Neurology, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 673, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
J Physiol. 2011 Dec 1;589(Pt 23):5613-24. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.215814. Epub 2011 Oct 17.
During closed-loop control of a brain-computer interface, neurons in the primary motor cortex can be intensely active even though the subject may be making no detectable movement or muscle contraction. How can neural activity in the primary motor cortex become dissociated from the movements and muscles of the native limb that it normally controls? Here we examine circumstances in which motor cortex activity is known to dissociate from movement--including mental imagery, visuo-motor dissociation and instructed delay. Many such motor cortex neurons may be related to muscle activity only indirectly. Furthermore, the integration of thousands of synaptic inputs by individual α-motoneurons means that under certain circumstances even cortico-motoneuronal cells, which make monosynaptic connections to α-motoneurons, can become dissociated from muscle activity. The natural ability of motor cortex neurons under voluntarily control to become dissociated from bodily movement may underlie the utility of this cortical area for controlling brain-computer interfaces.
在脑机接口的闭环控制中，即使受试者没有进行可检测到的运动或肌肉收缩，初级运动皮层中的神经元也可能非常活跃。那么，原本控制的肢体的运动和肌肉的神经活动是如何与初级运动皮层分离的呢？在这里，我们研究了已知与运动分离的运动皮层活动的情况，包括心理意象、视动分离和指令延迟。许多这样的运动皮层神经元可能与肌肉活动只有间接的关系。此外，单个α运动神经元整合数千个突触输入，这意味着在某些情况下，即使是与α运动神经元形成单突触连接的皮质运动神经元，也可能与肌肉活动分离。在自愿控制下，运动皮层神经元自然能够与身体运动分离，这可能是该皮层区域用于控制脑机接口的基础。
