Frontal cortex encodes action goals and social context in freely moving and socially interacting macaques

Classic studies of goal-directed behavior in primates have investigated frontal cortical circuits under restraint conditions, leaving their role in natural social contexts largely unknown. We wirelessly recorded neural activity from freely moving macaques to study how frontal areas encode actions during naturalistic interactions. Neurons in ventral premotor and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex distinguished identical motor acts, such as grasping, depending on whether they occurred during foraging or grooming, indicating sensitivity to social meaning. Some units were selectively tuned to socially directed goals, while population analyses showed both regions flexibly integrated motor plans with social context. These results provide direct evidence that these regions, long considered key motor hubs, also encode the social dimension of action, redefining current models of frontal lobe function.