Role for Cingulate Motor Area Cells in Voluntary Movement Selection Based on Reward

TLDR

Voluntary action selection is guided by expected reward, with many possible choices. The study aimed to identify the cortical area and cellular activity that mediate reward‑based action selection. In monkeys, rostral cingulate motor area neurons encode expected reward during motor selection, and their inactivation disrupts this process.

Abstract

Most natural actions are chosen voluntarily from many possible choices. An action is often chosen based on the reward that it is expected to produce. What kind of cellular activity in which area of the cerebral cortex is involved in selecting an action according to the expected reward value? Results of an analysis in monkeys of cellular activity during the performance of reward-based motor selection and the effects of chemical inactivation are presented. We suggest that cells in the rostral cingulate motor area, one of the higher order motor areas in the cortex, play a part in processing the reward information for motor selection.