Posterior parietal cortex predicts upcoming movement in dynamic sensorimotor control

Interaction with a rapidly changing world relies on dynamically integrating sensory inflows and motor outflows. Numerous studies have shed light on sensorimotor transformations in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), but most have emphasized reactive movements toward static targets, in which the relationship between the sensory cues and the motor goals is fixed, making it difficult to distinguish neural activity relating to the movement from that reflecting the stimulus. To resolve this, we recorded single-neuron activity from the PPC in monkeys performing a manual interception task in which the instantaneous stimulus location is decoupled from the impending movement direction by different target speeds. Intriguingly, the results suggest that the PPC explicitly conveys information concerned with the forthcoming movement, rather than the instantaneous stimuli, suggesting an intimate role in motor planning.