Motor control by sensory cortex.
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.
Laboratory of Sensory Processing, Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ferenc
F
Matyas
Varun
V
Sreenivasan
Fred
F
Marbach
Catherine
C
Wacongne
Boglarka
B
Barsy
Celine
C
Mateo
Rachel
R
Aronoff
Carl C H
CC
Petersen
D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D056228:Feedback, Sensory; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009043:Motor Activity; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology*