Preconfigured cortico-thalamic neural dynamics constrain movement-associated thalamic activity.

Neural preconfigured activity patterns (nPAPs), conceptualized as organized activity parcellated into groups of neurons, have been proposed as building blocks for cognitive and sensory processing. However, their existence and function in motor networks have been scarcely studied. Here, we explore the possibility that nPAPs are present in the motor thalamus (VL/VM) and their potential contribution to motor-related activity.

The Central Medial Thalamic Nucleus Facilitates Bilateral Movement Execution in Rats.

Intralaminar thalamic nuclei, including the central medial nucleus (CMT), have been classically implicated in the control of attentional functional states such as sleep-wake transitions. In rodents, the CMT innervates large cortical and subcortical areas bilaterally, including sensorimotor regions of the cortex and striatum, but its contribution to motor function, which regularly develops in faster temporal scales than attentional states, is still far from being completely understood. Here, by using a novel behavioral protocol to evaluate bilateral coordination in rats, combined with electrophysiological recordings and optogenetic manipulations, we studied the contribution of the CMT to motor control and coordination.