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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior

Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior

Published on: December 2, 2022

Continuous input drives motor cortical dynamics during reaching.

Andrew Schwartz¹, Hongwei Mao¹, Brady Hasse^1,2,3

¹Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.

Research Square

|February 23, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

External input, not internal processing, drives motor cortex activity during reaching. This finding challenges existing models by showing how continuous external signals orchestrate neural state transitions for motor control.

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Last Updated: Feb 24, 2026

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Motor Control

Background:

Current models propose autonomous internal processing drives motor cortical activity.
The role of continuous external input in shaping neural dynamics during behavior remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the influence of continuous external input versus intrinsic processing on motor cortical neuron activity during reaching.
To determine the primary drivers of state transitions observed in neural populations during motor tasks.

Main Methods:

Utilized hybrid neural networks (HNNs) combining artificial connectivity with empirical firing rates.
Recorded neural population activity during a reaching task.
Employed HNNs to model neural systems and test hypotheses about input sources.

Main Results:

Observed distinct state transitions in motor cortical neuron firing rates during reaching.
HNNs accurately reproduced recorded firing rates and population state transitions.
Demonstrated that extrinsic, episodically modulated input, rather than intrinsic processing, was responsible for the observed neural dynamics.
Identified that episodic external drive alters pre-threshold input integration statistics, causing state transitions.

Conclusions:

Continuous external input is a key driver of dynamic activity and state transitions in the motor cortex during reaching.
Findings challenge the primacy of intrinsic action in current models of cortical function.
Hybrid neural networks provide a powerful tool for dissecting the contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in neural systems.