Congrats to Z. Josh Huang and his colleagues at Duke University, Peking University, and the University of Lethbridge for their research – “Cortico-thalamic communication for action coordination in a skilled motor sequence”. Extracellular spikes were recorded using linear 32-channel silicon probes (A1×32-5mm-25-177, A4×8-5mm-100-200-177), exploring how the motor cortex and thalamus interact to coordinate skilled movements in mice performing a reach-and-withdraw-to-drink task. By using high-density Neuronexus silicon probes, the team recorded neural activity across cortical and thalamic regions with high spatial and temporal resolution. These recordings revealed that corticothalamic neurons synchronize motor activity, facilitating coordinated movements of the forelimb and orofacial regions. The findings highlight the importance of precise corticothalamic communication for sequencing complex actions, offering new insights into the neural basis of motor coordination.
