Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Brake and gas pedals in motor cortex

A new study finds that a major population of output cells in primary motor cortex suppresses movement and behavioral engagement.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Pathways in vM1 for promotion and suppression of motor engagement.

Katie Vicari/Nature Publishing Group

References

  1. Sasaki, K., Gemba, H. & Tsujimoto, T. Brain Res. 495, 100–107 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Chambers, C.D., Garavan, H. & Bellgrove, M.A. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 33, 631–646 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Coxon, J.P., Stinear, C.M. & Byblow, W.D. J. Neurophysiol. 95, 3371–3383 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ebbesen, C.L., Doron, G., Lenschow, C. & Brecht, M. Nat. Neurosci. 20, 82–89 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Hill, D.N., Curtis, J.C., Moore, J.D. & Kleinfeld, D. Neuron 72, 344–356 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Brecht, M., Schneider, M., Sakmann, B. & Margrie, T.W. Nature 427, 704–710 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Haiss, F. & Schwarz, C. J. Neurosci. 25, 1579–1587 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Matyas, F. et al. Science 330, 1240–1243 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mao, T. et al. Neuron 72, 111–123 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Guo, J.Z. et al. eLife 4, e10774 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Georgopoulos, A.P., Schwartz, A.B. & Kettner, R.E. Science 233, 1416–1419 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Graziano, M.S., Taylor, C.S. & Moore, T. Neuron 34, 841–851 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zagha, E., Ge, X. & McCormick, D.A. Neuron 88, 565–577 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hill, D.N., Bermejo, R., Zeigler, H.P. & Kleinfeld, D. J. Neurosci. 28, 3438–3455 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Chakrabarti, S. & Schwarz, C. in Sensorimotor Integration in the Whisker System (ed. P. Krieger & A. Groh) 129–148 (Springer New York, 2015).

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S Andrew Hires.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, J., Hires, S. Brake and gas pedals in motor cortex. Nat Neurosci 20, 4–6 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4461

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4461

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing