Relationship of neuronal discharges in the precentral gyrus of monkeys to the performance of arm movements.

Recordings have been made from 162 pyramidal tract neurones which discharged bursts of nerve impulses in characteristic temporal association with performances of a stereotyped motor task by monkeys. Clinical evaluation of the relationship between discharges of the neurones and free movement led to the view that each cell's firing was associated with a characteristic aspect of movement performance and the contraction of a particular group of muscles. Quantitative evaluation of these relationships led to the conclusion that coding of the recruitment of motor units to the movement task could have been conferred by the number of pyramidal tract neurones discharging to those motoneurone targets. A ramp of "recruitment" of pyramidal tract neurones preceded the development of a ramp of force by about 100 msec. This general conclusion was supported by the observations made in a single animal in which orderly discharge of precentral neurones in relation to a sterotyped movement performance was clearly evident.