Neural dynamics in monkey parietal reach region reflect context-specific sensorimotor transformations

We investigated the neural dynamics of sensorimotor transformations in the parietal reach region (PRR) of monkeys. To dissociate sensory from motor goal representations, we used a memory-guided anti-reach task. The monkeys had to reach either to a visually instructed, memorized peripheral target position (pro-reach) or to a diametrically opposed position (anti) while keeping central ocular fixation. Pro- and anti-reaches were randomly interleaved and indicated by a color instruction from the beginning of each trial. We analyzed spatiotemporal single-cell tuning and performed time-resolved population decoding to quantify the dynamic representation of the spatial visual cue, the reach goal, and the currently valid task rule (pro/anti mapping). Sensory information regarding the visual cue position was represented weakly during a short period of cue visibility. PRR predominantly encoded the reach goal from the end of the cue period on. The representation of the reach goal in the memory task evolves later for the anti-compared with pro-reaches, consistent with a 40-50 ms difference in reaction time between the two task rules. The task rule could be decoded before the appearance of the spatial cue, which indicates that abstract rule information is present in PRR that is independent of spatial cue or motor goal representations. Our findings support the hypothesis that PRR immediately translates current sensory information into reach movement plans, rather than storing the memorized cue location in the instructed-delay task. This finding indicates that PRR represents integrated knowledge on spatial sensory information combined with abstract behavioral rules to encode the desired movement goal.