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A switch in neuronal dynamics that helps to initiate movement

Experiments on the mouse brain reveal that neuronal signals from the midbrain to the cortex act as a switch that transforms the dynamics of cortical neuronal activity and, in turn, initiates movement.
By
  1. Oliver M. Gauld

    1. Oliver M. Gauld is in the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London W1T 4JG, UK.

  2. Chunyu A. Duan

    1. Chunyu A. Duan is in the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London W1T 4JG, UK.

Starting a sprint at the right moment is crucial for winning a 100-metre race. A slow start will cost you valuable time, but a premature movement might disqualify you. How does the brain mediate the rapid and precise transition between planning and movement that is required for this type of goal-directed behaviour? Writing in Cell, Inagaki et al.1 reveal a multi-regional neural circuit that triggers a transformation in the neuronal dynamics of the brain’s motor cortex, enabling a switch from motor planning to movement.

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Nature 605, 232-233 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01079-2

References

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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