When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?

During delayed ballistic reaches, motor areas consistently display movement-specific activity patterns prior to movement onset. It is unclear why these patterns arise: while they have been proposed to seed an initial neural state from which the movement unfolds, recent experiments have uncovered the...

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Main Authors: Marine Schimel, Ta-Chu Kao, Guillaume Hennequin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2024-09-01
Series:eLife
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Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/89131
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author Marine Schimel
Ta-Chu Kao
Guillaume Hennequin
author_facet Marine Schimel
Ta-Chu Kao
Guillaume Hennequin
author_sort Marine Schimel
collection DOAJ
description During delayed ballistic reaches, motor areas consistently display movement-specific activity patterns prior to movement onset. It is unclear why these patterns arise: while they have been proposed to seed an initial neural state from which the movement unfolds, recent experiments have uncovered the presence and necessity of ongoing inputs during movement, which may lessen the need for careful initialization. Here, we modeled the motor cortex as an input-driven dynamical system, and we asked what the optimal way to control this system to perform fast delayed reaches is. We find that delay-period inputs consistently arise in an optimally controlled model of M1. By studying a variety of network architectures, we could dissect and predict the situations in which it is beneficial for a network to prepare. Finally, we show that optimal input-driven control of neural dynamics gives rise to multiple phases of preparation during reach sequences, providing a novel explanation for experimentally observed features of monkey M1 activity in double reaching.
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spelling doaj-art-b2387dad59e74bb98d2cda0ee33fe6562025-08-20T01:54:34ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-09-011210.7554/eLife.89131When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?Marine Schimel0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6937-011XTa-Chu Kao1Guillaume Hennequin2Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomMeta Reality Labs, Burlingame, United StatesComputational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomDuring delayed ballistic reaches, motor areas consistently display movement-specific activity patterns prior to movement onset. It is unclear why these patterns arise: while they have been proposed to seed an initial neural state from which the movement unfolds, recent experiments have uncovered the presence and necessity of ongoing inputs during movement, which may lessen the need for careful initialization. Here, we modeled the motor cortex as an input-driven dynamical system, and we asked what the optimal way to control this system to perform fast delayed reaches is. We find that delay-period inputs consistently arise in an optimally controlled model of M1. By studying a variety of network architectures, we could dissect and predict the situations in which it is beneficial for a network to prepare. Finally, we show that optimal input-driven control of neural dynamics gives rise to multiple phases of preparation during reach sequences, providing a novel explanation for experimentally observed features of monkey M1 activity in double reaching.https://elifesciences.org/articles/89131recurrent neural networksmotor controlmotor preparationoptimal controldelayed reaching
spellingShingle Marine Schimel
Ta-Chu Kao
Guillaume Hennequin
When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?
eLife
recurrent neural networks
motor control
motor preparation
optimal control
delayed reaching
title When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?
title_full When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?
title_fullStr When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?
title_full_unstemmed When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?
title_short When and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control?
title_sort when and why does motor preparation arise in recurrent neural network models of motor control
topic recurrent neural networks
motor control
motor preparation
optimal control
delayed reaching
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/89131
work_keys_str_mv AT marineschimel whenandwhydoesmotorpreparationariseinrecurrentneuralnetworkmodelsofmotorcontrol
AT tachukao whenandwhydoesmotorpreparationariseinrecurrentneuralnetworkmodelsofmotorcontrol
AT guillaumehennequin whenandwhydoesmotorpreparationariseinrecurrentneuralnetworkmodelsofmotorcontrol