Position- and scale-invariant object-centered spatial selectivity in monkey frontoparietal cortex dynamically adapts to task demand

Abstract

Humans utilize egocentric and allocentric spatial information to guide goal-directed movements. Egocentric encoding is a well-known property of brain areas along the dorsal pathway. We ask if dorsal stream reach planning areas like parietal reach region (PRR) and dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) also encode object-centered (allocentric) information. During two consecutive instructed delay periods, rhesus monkeys first memorized an object-relative target position and then planned a reach to this position after the object re-occurred at variable positions with potentially different size. In both areas, we find predominant object-centered encoding during visual memory, which is invariant to object position and object size, and predominant egocentric encoding during reach planning. Such dynamic transition from allo- to egocentric encoding within individual dorsal stream areas contrasts the idea of task-independent functional segregation between processing pathways. Instead, demand-specific local computations might facilitate spatial cognition in dynamic environments to facilitate motor planning towards objects changing their location.