Completing the puzzle: Why studies in non-human primates are needed to better understand the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation.

Brain stimulation is a core method in neuroscience. Numerous non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques are currently in use in basic and clinical research, and recent advances promise the ability to non-invasively access deep brain structures. While encouraging, there is a surprising gap in our understanding of precisely how NIBS perturbs neural activity throughout an interconnected network, and how such perturbed neural activity ultimately links to behaviour.

Transient Pupil Dilation after Subsaccadic Microstimulation of Primate Frontal Eye Fields.

Unlabelled: Pupillometry provides a simple and noninvasive index for a variety of cognitive processes, including perception, attention, task consolidation, learning, and memory. The neural substrates by which such cognitive processes influence pupil diameter remain somewhat unclear, although cortical inputs to the locus coeruleus mediating arousal are likely involved. Changes in pupil diameter also accompany covert orienting; hence the oculomotor system may provide an alternative substrate for cognitive influences on pupil diameter.

Spatial Representations in Local Field Potential Activity of Primate Anterior Intraparietal Cortex (AIP).

The execution of reach-to-grasp movements in order to interact with our environment is an important subset of the human movement repertoire. To coordinate such goal-directed movements, information about the relative spatial position of target and effector (in this case the hand) has to be continuously integrated and processed. Recently, we reported the existence of spatial representations in spiking-activity of the cortical fronto-parietal grasp network (Lehmann & Scherberger 2013), and in particular in the anterior intraparietal cortex (AIP).

Reach and gaze representations in macaque parietal and premotor grasp areas.

Voluntary movements are frequently composed of several actions that are combined to achieve a specific behavior. For example, prehension involves reaching and grasping actions to transport the hand to a target to grasp or manipulate it. For controlling these actions, separate parietofrontal networks have been described for generating reaching and grasping actions.