Targeted stimulation of motor cortex ensembles drives learned movements

Targeted stimulation of motor cortex ensembles drives learned movements

During the execution of learned motor skills, the neural population in layer 2/3 (L2/3) of primary motor cortex (M1) expresses a reproducible spatiotemporal activity pattern1. It is debated whether M1 actively participates in generating this learned pattern and whether this pattern causally drives the learned movement2–5. Here we combined in vivo two-photon calcium imaging and holographic optogenetic stimulation of functionally defined M1 L2/3 e…

Neurobiologists Trigger Learned Movements by Activating Just 20 Brain Cells

Scientists have identified and activated a small group of neurons responsible for the initiation of learned movements. The study used cutting-edge techniques to not only "read" brain activity down to the level of individual cells, but "write" patterns that allowed researchers to control movement.

Just 20 Neurons Were Enough to Set off a Learned Movement in Mice

UC San Diego researchers showed that artificially activating just twenty selected neurons in the mouse motor cortex can trigger the brain-wide activity pattern and the learned movement itself.