Using a Neural Network Classifier to predict movement outcome from LFP signals

The dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is thought to be an integrative brain area for intelligent behavior in primates. It is responsible for motor planning, decision making, and has been shown to be involved with working memory. We studied the role of the DLPFC in controlling a complex instructed behavior, in which a non-human primate produced sequential arm movements punctuated by sequences of self-timed temporal intervals. We examined local field potentials (LFPs) recorded during an instruction period before the movement onset and used a Neural Network Classifier to predict whether the subject would perform the upcoming behavior correctly. The classifier was able to predict the outcomes of movement using LFPs during 3 scenarios: spatial error versus correct trial, temporal error versus correct trial, and spatial versus temporal error. The successful classification of the outcomes indicates that DLPFC LFPs can be used as a signal for cognitive neural prosthetics (CNPs).