Distinct descending motor cortex pathways and their roles in movement

Michael N. Economo, Sarada Viswanathan, Bosiljka Tasic, Erhan Bas, Johan Winnubst, Vilas Menon, Lucas T. Graybuck, Thuc Nghi Nguyen, Kimberly A. Smith, Zizhen Yao, Lihua Wang, Charles R. Gerfen, Jayaram Chandrashekar, Hongkui Zeng, Loren L. Looger and Karel Svoboda ()
Additional contact information
Michael N. Economo: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Sarada Viswanathan: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Bosiljka Tasic: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Erhan Bas: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Johan Winnubst: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Vilas Menon: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lucas T. Graybuck: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Thuc Nghi Nguyen: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Kimberly A. Smith: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Zizhen Yao: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Lihua Wang: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Charles R. Gerfen: National Institute of Mental Health
Jayaram Chandrashekar: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Hongkui Zeng: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Loren L. Looger: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Karel Svoboda: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Nature, 2018, vol. 563, issue 7729, 79-84

Abstract: Abstract Activity in the motor cortex predicts movements, seconds before they are initiated. This preparatory activity has been observed across cortical layers, including in descending pyramidal tract neurons in layer 5. A key question is how preparatory activity is maintained without causing movement, and is ultimately converted to a motor command to trigger appropriate movements. Here, using single-cell transcriptional profiling and axonal reconstructions, we identify two types of pyramidal tract neuron. Both types project to several targets in the basal ganglia and brainstem. One type projects to thalamic regions that connect back to motor cortex; populations of these neurons produced early preparatory activity that persisted until the movement was initiated. The second type projects to motor centres in the medulla and mainly produced late preparatory activity and motor commands. These results indicate that two types of motor cortex output neurons have specialized roles in motor control.

Keywords: Axonal Reconstructions; Preparatory Activities; Delay Epoch; Transcriptome Clusters; Sampling Epoch (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0642-9

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