Reaches to Sounds Encoded in an Eye-Centered Reference Frame

Abstract

A recent hypothesis suggests that neurons in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) and the parietal reach region (PRR) encode movement plans in a common eye-centered reference frame. To test this hypothesis further, we examined how PRR neurons encode reach plans to auditory stimuli. We found that PRR activity was affected by eye and initial hand position. Population analyses, however, indicated that PRR neurons were affected more strongly by eye position than by initial hand position. These eye position effects were appropriate to maintain coding in eye coordinates. Indeed, a significant population of PRR neurons encoded reaches to auditory stimuli in an eye-centered reference frame. These results extend the hypothesis that, regardless of the modality of the sensory input or the eventual action, PRR and LIP neurons represent movement plans in a common, eye-centered representation.