Reaching an understanding of cortico-medullary control of forelimb behaviors

How the neocortex modulates hindbrain and spinal circuits is of fundamental interest for understanding mo-tor control and adaptive behaviors. New work from Yang, Kanodia, and Arber demonstrates that there is an exquisite anatomical organization and functional modulation from the anterior (motor) cortex on downstream medulla populations during forelimb behaviors in mice.