Adam B. Goldring is a PhD candidate from the Krubitzer Laboratory in the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis.

Abstract: The posterior parietal cortex sits at the interface of perception and action, combining information from multiple sensory modalities in order to compute contextually appropriate movement commands for subsequent processing in frontal motor areas. Numerous studies have recorded from or stimulated neurons within these areas under different conditions, which have generated different hypotheses about the role these areas play in various aspects of behavior. Over the past several years we have undertaken a series of experiments to test those hypotheses by disrupting the function of PPC and motor cortical regions in order to study the resultant alterations to both network dynamics and manual dexterity. In addition to aspirated lesions, we employ a method of reversible deactivation via transient cooling using a small, biocompatible device designed by our laboratory called a cooling chip. This device, and the system which supports it, allows us to deactivate a cortical area with a fine degree of spatial and temporal resolution while requiring minimal user input.