December 2, 2016　　Friday Lunch Seminar
12:15 〜 13:00

CiNet　1F　Conference Room

“Hierarchical motor sequence representation in human neocortex”

Atsushi Yokoi

Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences
Osaka University

JSPS

Host PI : Shigeru Kitazawa

Abstract:

The hierarchical view of action sequencing, first proposed by Lashley (1951), is supported by a large body of behavioural evidence (e.g., Rosenbaum et al., 1983; Sakai et al., 2003). Yet it remains unclear what the neuronal underpinnings are. In this talk, I will present the results of two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments in which we used novel multivariate analysis techniques for fMRI data to ask whether and how complex sequences of finger movements are represented over the cortical motor areas in the human brain. The first experiment addresses the question whether there is genuine sequence encoding in primary motor cortex (M1). In the second experiment, I will further discuss how complex sequences are hierarchically encoded in higher order areas, such as premotor, supplementary motor areas, or parietal regions. Finally, I will also discuss possible coexistence of hierarchical and non-hierarchical sequence representation.

About CiNet’s Friday Lunch Seminars:
The Friday Lunch Seminar is CiNet’s main regular meeting series, held every week at 12:15 in the beautiful main lecture theatre on the ground floor at CiNet. The talks are typically 40mins long and orientated towards an inter-disciplinary audience. They are informal, social, and most people bring their own lunch to eat during the talk. They are open to anyone who is feeling curious and wants to come, regardless of where you work.