This research proposal seeks to bridge the gap between computational theories of executive motor control and the neural processes that underlie the control of movements. Often, qualitatively different computational theories can explain the same behavioral data. However, in some cases competing theories can be distinguished based on the form of the instantiating neuronal mechanisms. A primary research goal of this proposal is to elucidate the correspondence between a specific cognitive theory of control and a specific neural instantiation. To that end, behavioral and neural data obtained in a countermanding (stop signal) task will be linked through a simple neural network model constrained at once by the particular characteristics of countermanding behavior, the logic of the computational theory that accounts for the behavior, and the properties of neurons recorded while macaque monkeys perform the task. The training goal is to become conversant with the nuances of the neural circuits instantiating motor control and to develop expertise with stochastic models of human cognition and performance. The strength of this proposal lies in its unique convergence of conceptual frameworks and the breadth of data considered.
| Thakkar, Katharine N; Schall, Jeffrey D; Boucher, Leanne et al. (2011) Response inhibition and response monitoring in a saccadic countermanding task in schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 69:55-62 |
| Nelson, Matthew J; Boucher, Leanne; Logan, Gordon D et al. (2010) Nonindependent and nonstationary response times in stopping and stepping saccade tasks. Atten Percept Psychophys 72:1913-29 |
| Lo, Chung-Chuan; Boucher, Leanne; Paré, Martin et al. (2009) Proactive inhibitory control and attractor dynamics in countermanding action: a spiking neural circuit model. J Neurosci 29:9059-71 |
| Boucher, Leanne; Stuphorn, Veit; Logan, Gordon D et al. (2007) Stopping eye and hand movements: are the processes independent? Percept Psychophys 69:785-801 |
| Boucher, Leanne; Palmeri, Thomas J; Logan, Gordon D et al. (2007) Inhibitory control in mind and brain: an interactive race model of countermanding saccades. Psychol Rev 114:376-97 |
| Schall, Jeffrey D; Boucher, Leanne (2007) Executive control of gaze by the frontal lobes. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 7:396-412 |
| Emeric, Erik E; Brown, Joshua W; Boucher, Leanne et al. (2007) Influence of history on saccade countermanding performance in humans and macaque monkeys. Vision Res 47:35-49 |
