Motor Control by Sensory Cortex

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 330; no. 6008; pp. 1240 - 1243
• Main Authors: Matyas, Ferenc, Sreenivasan, Varun, Marbach, Fred, Wacongne, Catherine, Barsy, Boglarka, Mateo, Celine, Aronoff, Rachel, Petersen, Carl C.H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 26-11-2010; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Brain stem; Control systems; Cortexes; Electric Stimulation; Feedback, Sensory; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Motor ability; Motor Activity; Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration; Motor cortex; Motor Cortex - physiology; Motor neurons; Motors; Movement; Negative feedback; Neural Pathways - physiology; Neurons; Organizations; Pathways; Signal Transduction; Somatosensory cortex; Somatosensory Cortex - physiology; Somesthesis and somesthetic pathways (proprioception, exteroception, nociception); interoception; electrolocation. Sensory receptors; Transgenic animals; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Vibrissae - physiology; Whisker formations; Motor pathway; Functional organization; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Motor control; Encephalon; Somatosensory cortex; Vertebrata; Sensorimotor coordination; Mammalia; Mouse; Somesthetic pathway; Animal; Motor cortex
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1195797

Classical studies of mammalian movement control define a prominent role for the primary motor cortex. Investigating the mouse whisker system, we found an additional and equally direct pathway for cortical motor control driven by the primary somatosensory cortex. Whereas activity in primary motor cortex directly evokes exploratory whisker protraction, primary somatosensory cortex directly drives whisker retraction, providing a rapid negative feedback signal for sensorimotor integration. Motor control by sensory cortex suggests the need to reevaluate the functional organization of cortical maps.