Speed tuning in the macaque posterior parietal cortex

ABSTRACT Neurons in the macaque posterior parietal cortex are known to encode the direction of self-motion. But do they also encode one’s speed? To test this, we performed neural recordings from area 7a while monkeys were passively translated or rotated at various speeds. Visual stimuli were delivered as optic flow fields and vestibular stimuli were generated by a motion platform. Under both conditions, the responses of a fraction of neurons scaled linearly with self-motion speed, and speed-selective neurons were not localized to specific layers or columns. We analyzed ensembles of simultaneously recorded neurons and found that the precision of speed representation was sufficient to support path integration over modest distances. Our findings describe a multisensory neural code for linear and angular self-motion speed in the posterior parietal cortex of the macaque brain, and suggest a potential role for this representation.