AUTHOR=Hira Riichiro , Ohkubo Fuki , Tanaka Yasuhiro R., Masamizu Yoshito , Augustine George J., Kasai Haruo , Matsuzaki Masanori TITLE=In vivo optogenetic tracing of functional corticocortical connections between motor forelimb areas JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neural Circuits VOLUME=7 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neural-circuits/articles/10.3389/fncir.2013.00055 DOI=10.3389/fncir.2013.00055 ISSN=1662-5110 ABSTRACT=
Interactions between distinct motor cortical areas are essential for coordinated motor behaviors. In rodents, the motor cortical forelimb areas are divided into at least two distinct areas: the rostral forelimb area (RFA) and the caudal forelimb area (CFA). The RFA is thought to be an equivalent of the premotor cortex (PM) in primates, whereas the CFA is believed to be an equivalent of the primary motor cortex. Although reciprocal connections between the RFA and the CFA have been anatomically identified in rats, it is unknown whether there are functional connections between these areas that can induce postsynaptic spikes. In this study, we used an