title: Cortex commands the performance of skilled movement.
abstract: Mammalian cerebral cortex is accepted as being critical for voluntary motor control, but what functions depend on cortex is still unclear. Here we used rapid, reversible optogenetic inhibition to test the role of cortex during a head-fixed task in which mice reach, grab, and eat a food pellet. Sudden cortical inhibition blocked initiation or froze execution of this skilled prehension behavior, but left untrained forelimb movements unaffected. Unexpectedly, kinematically normal prehension occurred immediately after cortical inhibition, even during rest periods lacking cue and pellet. This 'rebound' prehension was only evoked in trained and food-deprived animals, suggesting that a motivation-gated motor engram sufficient to evoke prehension is activated at inhibition's end. These results demonstrate the necessity and sufficiency of cortical activity for enacting a learned skill.
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Jian-Zhong
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Austin R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Wendy W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Jihong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-González
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Nuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Macklin
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Brett D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Mensh
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Branson
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.
authors.forename: Adam W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Hantman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D008124:Locomotion; D051379:Mice; D062308:Optogenetics
keywords: cortex; motor control; mouse; neuroscience; optogenetics