A cortical mechanism linking saliency detection and motor reactivity in rhesus monkeys

Abstract

Sudden and surprising sensory events trigger neural processes that swiftly adjust behavior. To study the phylogenesis and the mechanism of this phenomenon, we trained two rhesus monkeys to keep a cursor inside a visual target by exerting force on an isometric joystick. We examined the effect of surprising auditory stimuli on exerted force, scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, and local field potentials (LFP) recorded from the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex. Auditory stimuli elicited (1) a biphasic modulation of isometric force: a transient decrease followed by a corrective tonic increase, and (2) EEG and LFP deflections dominated by two large negative-positive waves (N70 and P130). The EEG potential was maximal at the scalp vertex, in all respects similar to the human vertex potential. Electrocortical potentials and force were tightly coupled: the P130 amplitude predicted the magnitude of the corrective force increase, particularly in the EEG electrodes contralateral to the limb exerting force, and in the LFP recorded from deep rather than superficial cortical layers, suggesting a direct effect of the vertex potential on the motor output determining the behavior. These results disclose a phylogenetically-preserved cortico-motor mechanism supporting adaptive behavior in response to salient sensory events.