A cortico-subcortical loop for motor control via the pontine reticular formation

Movement control is governed by several parallel cortico-subcortical loops involving the basal ganglia (BG) and the brainstem. The BG loop is characterized by strong, excitatory input from the cortex, powerful, inhibitory output to the thalamus, and unilateral motor deficit following unilateral perturbation. In this project, we asked to what extent the glycine transporter 2-positive (GlyT2+) cells of the pontine reticular formation (PRF) form a circuit similar to the cortico-BG-thalamus loop. We found that layer 5 neurons of the secondary motor and cingulate cortical areas (M2/Cg) exert strong glutamatergic control over the PRF/GlyT2+ neuronal activity primarily via synaptic contacts on dendrites. Photoactivation of PRF/GlyT2+ neurons evoked decreased firing of their thalamic targets, and triggered movement initiation and unilateral rotation. These results demonstrate that the cortico-PRF-thalamus loop forms a cortico-subcortical pathway that regulates motor activity and shares certain structural and functional properties which are conceptually similar to the cortico-BG loop.

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