Supplementary motor area encodes reward expectancy in eye-movement tasks.

Neural activity signifying the expectation of reward has been found recently in many parts of the brain, including midbrain and cortical structures. These signals can facilitate goal-directed behavior or the learning of new skills based on reinforcements. Here we show that neurons in the supplementary motor area (SMA), an area concerned with movements of the body and limbs, also carry a reward expectancy signal in the postsaccadic period of oculomotor tasks. While the monkeys performed blocks of memory-guided and object-based saccades, the neurons discharged a burst after a approximately 200-ms delay following the target-acquiring saccade in the memory task but often fired concurrently with the target-acquiring saccade in the object task. The hypothesis that this postsaccadic bursting activity reflects the expectation of a reward was tested with a series of manipulations to the memory-guided saccade task. It was found that although the timing of the bursting activity corresponds to a visual feedback stimulus, the visual feedback is not required for the neurons to discharge a burst. Second, blocks of no-reward trials reveal an extinction of the bursting activity as the monkeys come to understand that they would not be rewarded for properly generated saccades. Finally, the delivery of unexpected rewards confirmed that in many of the neurons, the activity is not related to a motor plan to acquire the reward (e.g., licking). Thus we conclude that reward expectancy is represented by the activity of SMA neurons, even in the context of an oculomotor task. These results suggest that the reward expectancy signal is broadcast over a large extent of motor cortex, and may facilitate the learning of new, coordinated behavior between different body parts.

Magnetic resonance image-guided implantation of chronic recording electrodes in the macaque intraparietal sulcus.

The implantation of chronic recording electrodes in the brain has been shown to be a valuable method for simultaneously recording from many neurons. However, precise placement of these electrodes, crucial for successful recording, is challenging if the target area is not on the brain surface. Here we present a stereotaxic implantation procedure to chronically implant bundles of recording electrodes into macaque cortical sulci, employing magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to determine stereotaxic coordinates of target location and sulcus orientation. Using this method in four animals, we recorded simultaneously the spiking activity and the local field potential from the parietal reach region (PRR), located in the medial bank of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), while the animal performed a reach movement task. Fifty percent of all electrodes recorded spiking activity during the first 2 post-operative months, indicating their placement within cortical gray matter. Chronic neural activity was similar to standard single electrode recordings in PRR, as reported previously. These results indicate that this MR image-guided implantation technique can provide sufficient placement accuracy in cortical sulci and subcortical structures. Moreover, this technique may be useful for future cortical prosthesis applications in humans that require implants within sulci.

Enhancing fMRI contrast in awake-behaving primates using intravascular magnetite dextran nanopartieles.

Functional MRI in awake-behaving primates is an emerging tool for bridging the gap between human fMRI and neurophysiology information from nonhuman primates. We report the use of magnetite dextran nanoparticles (Feridex) as a blood-pool agent to enhance fMRI contrast-to-noise (CNR) in primate FMRI. The intravascular half-life of the magnetite dextran was long compared to lanthanide chelates (T(1/2) = 198 min) with shortened T(2) relaxation observed in blood and cerebral cortex. Greater than 3-fold enhancement in the percentage MR signal change was observed using nanoparticles (13%) compared with conventional BOLD fMRI (4%). The calculated regional cerebral blood volume in macaque primary visual cortex increased 32% with photic stimulation. The increased CNR allows greater flexibility in the design of awake-behaving primate fMRI studies with the potential for improvements in resolution and significantly shortened imaging times.

Mental health staff and patient's relatives: how they view each other.

As part of a project to better serve the needs of patients' families, a New York state psychiatric facility surveyed 350 inpatient and outpatient staff and 250 family members about their attitudes toward each other and about the role of families in the patients' treatment. Generally staff felt positively about families and believed they should be meaningfully involved in the patients' treatment, but 61 percent reported spending less than one hour per week in contact with families. Staff cited conflict among themselves about the role of families and lack of time as the greatest impediments to interacting with families. Most families felt staff were supportive of them, but only 19 percent said staff provided them with enough information. Less than 21 percent had been invited to treatment planning meetings or to discharge conferences. The center is currently implementing training programs and administrative changes intended to increase cooperation between staff and patients' families.

Supportive family counseling.

Traditional family therapy has been based on theories of families as etiological agents of schizophrenia. Such a view impedes cooperative relationships between professionals and families of schizophrenic individuals. An alternative approach, supportive family counseling, is described. Its goal is to provide information, emotional support, and recognition that family members have their own needs. The difficulties facing professionals who want to engage in this form of family intervention are discussed.

Responding to patients' concerns.

Training our nursing staff in reflective responding techniques was a worthwhile project, and patients are benefitting from a staff better prepared to help them cope with some of the emotional stresses they face. Staff members now possess some basic helping skills on which other counseling skills may be built and have eliminated many nonhelpful responses. The participants are more aware of their unique role in helping patients deal with feelings about illness. By using these helping behaviors nursing staff members fulfill an autonomous function in the health care field. "They feel satisfied because they are doing a good job."