Dataset Information

A cerebellar-thalamocortical pathway drives behavioral context-dependent movement initiation.

ABSTRACT: Executing learned motor behaviors often requires the transformation of sensory cues into patterns of motor commands that generate appropriately timed actions. The cerebellum and thalamus are two key areas involved in shaping cortical output and movement, but the contribution of a cerebellar-thalamocortical pathway to voluntary movement initiation remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated how an auditory "go cue" transforms thalamocortical activity patterns and how these changes relate to movement initiation. Population responses in dentate/interpositus-recipient regions of motor thalamus reflect a time-locked increase in activity immediately prior to movement initiation that is temporally uncoupled from the go cue, indicative of a fixed-latency feedforward motor timing signal. Blocking cerebellar or motor thalamic output suppresses movement initiation, while stimulation triggers movements in a behavioral context-dependent manner. Our findings show how cerebellar output, via the thalamus, shapes cortical activity patterns necessary for learned context-dependent movement initiation.

SUBMITTER: Dacre J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8315304 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A cerebellar-thalamocortical pathway drives behavioral context-dependent movement initiation.

Dacre Joshua J Colligan Matt M Clarke Thomas T Ammer Julian J JJ Schiemann Julia J Chamosa-Pino Victor V Claudi Federico F Harston J Alex JA Eleftheriou Constantinos C Pakan Janelle M P JMP Huang Cheng-Chiu CC Hantman Adam W AW Rochefort Nathalie L NL Duguid Ian I

Neuron 20210618 14

Executing learned motor behaviors often requires the transformation of sensory cues into patterns of motor commands that generate appropriately timed actions. The cerebellum and thalamus are two key areas involved in shaping cortical output and movement, but the contribution of a cerebellar-thalamocortical pathway to voluntary movement initiation remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated how an auditory "go cue" transforms thalamocortical activity patterns and how these changes relate to ...[more]

PMID: 34146469

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Dataset Information

A cerebellar-thalamocortical pathway drives behavioral context-dependent movement initiation.

Publications

A cerebellar-thalamocortical pathway drives behavioral context-dependent movement initiation.

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