Neural aspects of anticipatory behavior

Abstract

Anticipatory behavior reveals itself in the perceptual domain and in the motor domain. Expectant attention and motor preparation are characterized by selection, aimed at an amelioration of the signal-to-noise ratio in the information to be processed. The functional similarity of anticipatory attention and motor preparation is re¯ected in the underlying anatomical substrate. The prefrontal cortex, involved in a number of dierent networks, organizes anticipatory behavior in a top-down way by activating cortico-cortical loops and thalamo-cortical loops to sensory and motor areas. The sensory areas are set to receive the impinging stimulus presentation, the motor areas are set to implement and execute the different motor programs. Thalamic nuclei are also activated from the prefrontal cortex, especially the large association nuclei, the dorsomedial nucleus and the pulvinar. In dierent models of selective attention the reticular nucleus of the thalamus has a special role in the distribution of the inhibitory control upon the information processing in the``relay'' nuclei. It is hypothesized that it has the same pivotal position in motor preparation. Although the anatomical relations do not allow a direct test of the proposed hypothesis, the available psychophysiological evidence does not contradict it. Ó

Event-related potentials accompanying motor preparation and stimulus expectancy in the young, young-old and oldest-old

“…The main procedural difference between this study and previous CNV studies was that in a typical CNV task a pair of stimuli (S1, S2) are separated by a foreperiod lasting ∼1-5 s [7,68]. In contrast, in the current study a button press was substituted for the first stimulus.…”

“…In the context of tasks that provide information about an upcoming task-relevant stimulus (such as stimulus onset time and the required response), a diverse set of neurobiological mechanisms can be engaged to prepare for an upcoming stimulus to facilitate execution of the appropriate response [7,53]. Convergent evidence from human neuroimaging and animal studies indicates that preparation for an impending stimulus is associated with activities in prefrontal and premotor cortex acting in concert with posterior association regions [12,14,15,18,32,48,57,59].…”

“…Differences between groups of young (17-23 years) young-old (60-69 years), and oldest-old (85-98 years) subjects were evaluated using a self-paced contingent negative variation (CNV) task. The CNV is a well-studied brain potential that develops during a short (∼1-5 s) interval between two task-relevant stimuli, with the second "imperative" stimulus typically requiring a motor response [7,68]. The CNV occurring just before the imperative stimulus, often called the "late CNV" to distinguish it from potentials elicited by the first stimulus, is Note: values are mean ± S.D.…”

Age-related differences in auditory event-related potentials during a cued attention task

“…working memory for cue information and timing of stimulus onset) (Brunia, 1999). To determine if group differences in CNV amplitudes would be evident in the absence of motor preparation subjects performed a non-motor version of the cued attention task.…”

“…The CNV is a sustained potential that develops during the interval between two task-relevant stimuli, with the second stimulus usually requiring a motor response (Brunia, 1999;Walter et al, 1964). The late CNV occurs just before the second stimulus and is generated by a network of cortical and subcortical structures (Gemba et al, 1990;Hamano et al, 1997;Ikeda et al, 1997).…”