The effects upon the activity of hand and forearm muscles of intracortical stimulation in the vicinity of corticomotor neurones in the conscious monkey

Abstract

Corticomotor (CM) neurones were identified in three conscious macaque monkeys by the presence of post-spike facilitation (PSF) in spike-triggered averages of e.m.g. recorded from intrinsic hand and forearm muscles during performance of a precision grip task. Post-spike effects were compared with those produced by single-pulse intracortical microstimulation (ICMS), with strengths of 4–20 μA, delivered at the site of 47 CM cells. Most muscles facilitated by a CM cell were also facilitated by ICMS at the site of the cell. ICMS effects were stronger: at 10 μA, the amplitude of ICMS-evoked facilitation was on average 2.8 times greater than PSF, and 6.9 times greater at 20 μA. Onset latency of ICMS-evoked facilitation was consistently longer (by 1.7 and 1.3 ms at 10 and 20 μA respectively) than PSF, and it is suggested that this results from the indirect, trans-synaptic excitation of CM cells by ICMS. Post-spike suppression was rarely seen (7/421 compared to 105/421 cases of PSF). In contrast, suppression and facilitation were equally common in response to ICMS. The synaptic mechanisms underlying these effects were explored in 5 anaesthetised macaque monkeys. ICMS facilitated a greater proportion of the tested muscles than did the CM cell recorded at the stimulus site. The results suggest the juxtaposition in the motor cortex of CM neurones with different ‘muscle fields’. The merits of STA and ICMS for exploring cortical organisation are discussed.