Overview
- MPFI scientists trained mice on a precisely timed licking task while recording activity from thousands of neurons in motor cortex and striatum.
- Signal flow ran from motor cortex to striatum, where activity integrated over time to determine when movement should occur.
- Temporarily silencing motor cortex paused the striatal buildup and delayed the expected lick response.
- Silencing striatum reset the timing state, producing a larger delay consistent with restarting the internal timer.
- The peer-reviewed work, led by Zidan Yang and Hidehiko Inagaki and published in Nature, outlines preclinical insights with potential relevance for disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s.