This volume covers the proceedings of a symposium held in Marseille in March 1982 as a satellite meeting of the IBRO First World Congress in Lausanne. About 70 participants from more than ten countries attended the symposium, whose central theme was "Neural Coding of Motor Performance. " Whereas coding within the sensory systems has been dis cussed widely, coding in the field of motor control has been analyzed much less. Over the past 10 years an impressive amount of information has been assembled combining re- . cordings in central and peripheral neural structures during the performance of simple and complex motor tasks. Data such as those relating the behavioral phenomena of the awake animal to single-cell recordings from various cerebral areas have been carefully worked out by a number of investigators. It was thought at the symposium that the time had come for this infor mation to be collected and reexamined, and presented in one volume. The present book was conceived to cover the scope and significance of coding throughout the nervous system. by "coding" in the central nervous system? This What is meant question can be answered in general by bringing together data and viewpoints from many disciplines - behavior, neurophysi ology, neuropharmacology - and clinical observations. Gen erally speaking, one may call coding a method of communica tion, i. e. , the language that brain cells use for exchange of information.

Introductory Lecture: The Functional Labelling of Neural Codes

Neural Systems in the Context of Coding
Neuronal Activities in Primary Motor Area and Premotor Regions
Cortico-Basal Ganglia Relations and Coding of Motor Performance
Cortico-Cerebellar Loops
Presynaptic Controls in the Neostriatum: Reciprocal Interactions Between the Nigro-Striatal Dopaminergic Neurons and the Cortico-Striatal Glutamatergic Pathway
From Immobility to Motion
Patterns of Activities in the Ventrobasal Thalamus and Somatic Cortex SI During Behavioral Immobility in the Awake Cat: Focal Waking Rhythms
Premovement Cortical Potentials Associated With Self-Paced and Reaction Time Movements
The Initiation of Movements
Involvement of Monkey Premotor Cortex in the Preparation of Arm Movements
Anticipatory Neuronal Activity in the Monkey Precentral Cortex During Reaction Time Foreperiod: Preliminary Results
Facilitation of the H-Reflex in a Simple and Choice Reaction Time Situation
Changes in Mechanical Impedance and Gain of the Myotatic Response During Transitions Between Two Motor Tasks
A Comparison of Neuronal Discharge Recorded in the Sensori-Motor Cortex, Parietal Cortex and Dentate Nucleus of the Monkey During Arm Movements Triggered by Light, Sound or Somesthetic Stimuli
Different Neuronal Populations Within Area 5 of the Monkey
Effects of Lesion of Posterior Parietal Area 7 on Visually Guided Movements in Monkeys
The Encoding of Motor Acts by the Substantia Nigra
Neuronal Activity in Area 4 and Movement Parameters Recorded in Trained Monkeys After Unilateral Lesion of the Substantia Nigra
Activity of Neurones in the "Motor" Thalamus and Globus Pallidus During the Control of Isometric Finger Force in the Monkey
Are Coding Schemes Actually Used? TheCooling Test Demonstration
Structural Coding: Prewired Addressing
Neocerebellar Synergies
Function of Intermediate Cerebellum in Motor Control
Cortical Addresses of Distal Muscles: A Study in the Conscious Monkey Using the Spike-Triggered Averaging Technique
Comparison of Movement-Related Activity and Receptive Field Properties of Neurons in Primate Motor Cortex
Area 4 Cell Activity During Learning of a New Amplitude of Movement
Intervertebrate Motor Command During Walking: A Model for the Study of Neuronal Coding
Coding of Motor Performance
Muscle Spindle Contribution to the Coding of Motor Activities in Man
After-Effects of Fusimotor Activity: Long-Lasting Enhancement of the Dynamic Sensitivity of IA Muscle Spindle Afferents Following Stimulation of Dynamic or Static Gamma-Axons
A Technique for Reversible Fusimotor Blockade During Chronic Recording from Spindle Afferents in Walking Cats
Neural Control Drives a Muscle Spring: A Persisting yet Limited Motor Theory
Functional Organization of Claw Protrusion in the Cat
Discharge Patterns of Cerebellar Cortical Neurons During the Co-Activation and Reciprocal Inhibition of Forearm Muscles
Activity of Feline Motor Cortical Units to Cutaneous Stimuli During Locomotion and Lifting, Falling and Landing
Neural Coding of Force and of Rate of Force Change in the Precentral Finger Region of the Monkey
Spatial Coding of Movement: A Hypothesis Concerning the Coding of Movement Direction by Motor Cortical Populations
Résumé
Author Index.