Features of the spike activity of globus pallidus neurons and pallido-thalamic functional interactions during targeted verbally cued movements in humans
This paper reports the results of an analysis of evoked spike activity in neurons of the human globus pallidus during performance of a targeted verbally cued movement, along with a comparison with the results of previous experiments on evoked spike activity of neurons in the reticular and ventrolateral thalamic nuclei in an identical test, recorded during stereotaxic surgery with a microelectrode technique in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The following observations are reported for the first time: 1) The existence in the outer segment of the human pallidus of neurons with convergent properties, selectively responding with activation to significant “stimulatory” verbal command stimuli initiating the launch and performance of a targeted movement; 2) similarity in the dynamics of concordantly occuring responses of convergent neurons in the integrative centers of the striopallidothalamic circuit in functionally important phases of movement act performance. It is suggested that the similar concordantly developing dynamics of neuronal rearrangements during the performance of a targeted movement act within the structures of this circuit reflects functional interstructural and interneuronal interactions occurring in the striopallidothalamocortical system of the human brain, which is involved in organizing verbally cued targeted forms of activity.