Motor cortical output for skilled forelimb movement is selectively distributed across projection neuron classes.
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Authors
Phillips, James W
Dudman, Joshua T
Publication Date
2022-03-11Journal Title
Sci Adv
ISSN
2375-2548
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Volume
8
Issue
10
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
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Park, J., Phillips, J. W., Guo, J., Martin, K. A., Hantman, A. W., & Dudman, J. T. (2022). Motor cortical output for skilled forelimb movement is selectively distributed across projection neuron classes.. Sci Adv, 8 (10) https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj5167
Abstract
The interaction of descending neocortical outputs and subcortical premotor circuits is critical for shaping skilled movements. Two broad classes of motor cortical output projection neurons provide input to many subcortical motor areas: pyramidal tract (PT) neurons, which project throughout the neuraxis, and intratelencephalic (IT) neurons, which project within the cortex and subcortical striatum. It is unclear whether these classes are functionally in series or whether each class carries distinct components of descending motor control signals. Here, we combine large-scale neural recordings across all layers of motor cortex with cell type-specific perturbations to study cortically dependent mouse motor behaviors: kinematically variable manipulation of a joystick and a kinematically precise reach-to-grasp. We find that striatum-projecting IT neuron activity preferentially represents amplitude, whereas pons-projecting PT neurons preferentially represent the variable direction of forelimb movements. Thus, separable components of descending motor cortical commands are distributed across motor cortical projection cell classes.
Identifiers
35263129, PMC8906739
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj5167
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/335949
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