Motor cortex is responsible for motoric dynamics in striatum and the execution of both skilled and unskilled actions.

Striatum and its predominant input, motor cortex, are responsible for the selection and performance of purposive movement, but how their interaction guides these processes is not understood. To establish its neural and behavioral contributions, we bilaterally lesioned motor cortex and recorded striatal activity and reaching performance daily, capturing the lesion's direct ramifications within hours of the intervention. We observed reaching impairment and an absence of striatal motoric activity following lesion of motor cortex, but not parietal cortex control lesions.

Attention to Stimuli of Learned versus Innate Biological Value Relies on Separate Neural Systems.

The neural bases of attention, a set of neural processes that promote behavioral selection, is a subject of intense investigation. In humans, rewarded cues influence attention, even when those cues are irrelevant to the current task. Because the amygdala plays a role in reward processing, and the activity of amygdala neurons has been linked to spatial attention, we reasoned that the amygdala may be essential for attending to rewarded images.

CMU Array: A 3D nanoprinted, fully customizable high-density microelectrode array platform.

Microelectrode arrays provide the means to record electrophysiological activity critical to brain research. Despite its fundamental role, there are no means to customize electrode layouts to address specific experimental or clinical needs. Moreover, current electrodes demonstrate substantial limitations in coverage, fragility, and expense.

Open-Source Joystick Manipulandum for Decision-Making, Reaching, and Motor Control Studies in Mice.

To make full use of optogenetic and molecular techniques in the study of motor control, rich behavioral paradigms for rodents must rise to the same level of sophistication and applicability. We describe the layout, construction, use and analysis of data from joystick-based reaching in a head-fixed mouse. The step-by-step guide is designed for both experienced rodent motor labs and new groups looking to enter into this research space.

Gustatory responses in macaque monkeys revealed with fMRI: Comments on taste, taste preference, and internal state.

Studies of the neural mechanisms underlying value-based decision making typically employ food or fluid rewards to motivate subjects to perform cognitive tasks. Rewards are often treated as interchangeable, but it is well known that the specific tastes of foods and fluids and the values associated with their taste sensations influence choices and contribute to overall levels of food consumption. Accordingly, we characterized the gustatory system in three macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and examined whether gustatory responses were modulated by preferences and hydration status.

Top-Down-Mediated Facilitation in the Visual Cortex Is Gated by Subcortical Neuromodulation.

Response properties in primary sensory cortices are highly dependent on behavioral state. For example, the nucleus basalis of the forebrain plays a critical role in enhancing response properties of excitatory neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) during active exploration and learning. Given the strong reciprocal connections between hierarchically arranged cortical regions, how are increases in sensory response gain constrained to prevent runaway excitation? To explore this, we used in vivo two-photon guided cell-attached recording in conjunction with spatially restricted optogenetic photo-inhibition of higher-order visual cortex in mice.