The striatum and self-paced movements.

Journal article

Monkeys (Macacca fascicularis) were tested for their ability to perform learned, self-initiated arm movements for reward, both before and after receiving bilateral putamen lesions. The rate at which they made the movements was significantly reduced postoperatively, but their performance on a visually cued control task was normal. It is argued that the impairment was not a consequence of poor motor control or motivation, but that it reflected a reduced capacity to recall learned movements in the absence of external cues. The results complement similar findings for monkeys with supplementary motor cortex (SMA) lesions; the putamen is interconnected with the SMA in a cortico-striatal-thalamocortical loop.

Authors: Nixon, P; Passingham, R

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Behavioral neuroscience
• Volume: 112
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 719-724
• Publication date: 1998-06-01
• DOI: 10.1037//0735-7044.112.3.719
• EISSN: 1939-0084
• ISSN: 0735-7044
• Language: English
• Keywords: Putamen; Cues; Parkinson Disease; Animals; Mental Recall; Time and Motion Studies; Male; Motor Skills; Videotape Recording; Motor Cortex; Volition; Disease Models, Animal; Arm; Macaca fascicularis; Efferent Pathways; Conditioning, Operant