Distinct populations of motor thalamic neurons encode action initiation, action selection, and movement vigor

Matt Gaidica, Amy Hurst, Christopher Cyr, Daniel K. Leventhal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Motor thalamus (Mthal) comprises the ventral anterior, ventral lateral, and ventral medial thalamic nuclei in rodents. This subcortical hub receives input from the basal ganglia (BG), cerebellum, and reticular thalamus in addition to connecting reciprocally with motor cortical regions. Despite the central location of Mthal, the mechanisms by which it influences movement remain unclear. To determine its role in generating ballistic, goal-directed movement, we recorded single-unit Mthal activity as male rats performed a two-alternative forced-choice task. A large population of Mthal neurons increased their firing briefly near movement initiation and could be segregated into functional groups based on their behavioral correlates. The activity of “initiation” units was more tightly locked to instructional cues than movement onset, did not predict which direction the rat would move, and was anticorrelated with reaction time (RT). Conversely, the activity of “execution” units was more tightly locked to movement onset than instructional cues, predicted which direction the rat would move, and was anticorrelated with both RT and movement time. These results suggest that Mthal influences choice RT performance in two stages: short latency, nonspecific action initiation followed by action selection/invigoration. We discuss the implications of these results for models of motor control incorporating BG and cerebellar circuits.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6563-6573
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume38
Issue number29
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 18 2018

Keywords

  • Basal ganglia
  • Cerebellum
  • Motor thalamus
  • Movement initiation
  • Movement vigor
  • Parkinson disease

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Distinct populations of motor thalamic neurons encode action initiation, action selection, and movement vigor'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this