Open AccessCortex-dependent corrections as the tongue reaches for and misses targets
Author(s) -
Tejapratap Bollu,
Brendan S. Ito,
Samuel C. Whitehead,
Brian Kardon,
James Redd,
Mei Hong Liu,
Jesse H. Goldberg
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 15.993
H-Index - 1226
eISSN - 1476-4687
pISSN - 0028-0836
DOI - 10.1038/s41586-021-03561-9
Subject(s) - tongue , neuroscience , primate , motor cortex , cortex (anatomy) , kinematics , biology , psychology , medicine , physics , pathology , classical mechanics , stimulation
Precise tongue control is necessary for drinking, eating and vocalizing 1-3 . However, because tongue movements are fast and difficult to resolve, neural control of lingual kinematics remains poorly understood. Here we combine kilohertz-frame-rate imaging and a deep-learning-based neural network to resolve 3D tongue kinematics in mice drinking from a water spout. Successful licks required corrective submovements that-similar to online corrections during primate reaches 4-11 -occurred after the tongue missed unseen, distant or displaced targets. Photoinhibition of anterolateral motor cortex impaired corrections, which resulted in hypometric licks that missed the spout. Neural activity in anterolateral motor cortex reflected upcoming, ongoing and past corrective submovements, as well as errors in predicted spout contact. Although less than a tenth of a second in duration, a single mouse lick exhibits the hallmarks of online motor control associated with a primate reach, including cortex-dependent corrections after misses.