Sensory context of initiation-cue modulates action goal-relevant neural representations

Abstract

The ability to produce goal-directed movement relies on the integration of diverse sources of sensory information specific to the task goal. Neural representations of goal-relevant features, such as target location and gaze direction, have been well studied in sensorimotor areas. It remains less clear whether goal-relevant motor representations are influenced by sensory changes to initiation-relevant information, such as a go-cue that provides no information about target location. We used Bayesian pattern component modelling of fMRI data during a delayed reach task with either visual or audiovisual go-cues to explore whether neural representations of goal-related features in sensorimotor areas are modulated by changes to initiation-relevant sensory information. We found that representations of target direction and gaze direction in the primary sensory areas, motor areas, and posterior parietal cortex, were sensitive to whether a reach was cued with a visual or audiovisual go-cue. These findings indicate that the central nervous system flexibly delegates the tasks of where to move and when to move based on available sensory context, even if initiation-relevant stimuli provide no additional information about target location.