加州大学Takaki Komiyama课题组报道了运动学习细化了丘脑对运动皮层的影响。2025年5月7日出版的《自然》杂志发表了这项成果。

通过对小鼠M1 L2/3主要输入的纵向轴突成像，该课题组发现运动丘脑是编码专家（训练两周的动物）习得动作的关键输入区域。然后，研究团队利用光遗传学来识别学习前后受丘脑输入强烈驱动的M1 L2/3神经元子集。研究团队发现丘脑对M1的影响随着学习而变化，因此运动丘脑优先激活编码专家学习动作的M1神经元。专家对M1的丘脑输入失活会损害习得的动作。他们的研究表明，运动学习重塑了丘脑对M1的影响，使所学动作能够可靠地执行。

据了解，初级运动皮层（M1）是学习和执行灵巧运动技能的中心，以及它的表层(第2层和第3层；因此，L2/3)是学习相关可塑性的关键位点。目前尚不清楚运动学习如何塑造上游区域激活M1回路来执行学习运动的方式。

附：英文原文

Title: Motor learning refines thalamic influence on motor cortex

Author: Ramot, Assaf, Taschbach, Felix H., Yang, Yun C., Hu, Yuxin, Chen, Qiyu, Morales, Bobbie C., Wang, Xinyi C., Wu, An, Tye, Kay M., Benna, Marcus K., Komiyama, Takaki

Issue&Volume: 2025-05-07

Abstract: The primary motor cortex (M1) is central for the learning and execution of dexterous motor skills1,2,3, and its superficial layer (layers 2 and 3; hereafter, L2/3) is a key locus of learning-related plasticity1,4,5,6. It remains unknown how motor learning shapes the way in which upstream regions activate M1 circuits to execute learned movements. Here, using longitudinal axonal imaging of the main inputs to M1 L2/3 in mice, we show that the motor thalamus is the key input source that encodes learned movements in experts (animals trained for two weeks). We then use optogenetics to identify the subset of M1 L2/3 neurons that are strongly driven by thalamic inputs before and after learning. We find that the thalamic influence on M1 changes with learning, such that the motor thalamus preferentially activates the M1 neurons that encode learned movements in experts. Inactivation of the thalamic inputs to M1 in experts impairs learned movements. Our study shows that motor learning reshapes the thalamic influence on M1 to enable the reliable execution of learned movements.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08962-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08962-8