CORTICAL ENCODING OF AVERSIVE-APPETITIVE MOTIVATED LOCOMOTOR MOVEMENT

Locomotion is fundamental for survival. Locomotion can be motivated by memories of previous rewarding or aversive experiences. The premotor cortex is widely implicated in movement planning, particularly for cue-driven, goal-directed actions. In mice, the secondary motor cortex (M2), is considered a premotor-like area that integrates task-relevant sensory information to drive skilled movements. However, the specific contribution of M2 in the planning of motivated locomotion, and how motivationally-driven locomotion is represented in the premotor circuits remains unclear. Here, we combined an instrumental behavioral paradigm where auditory cues triggered appetitive or aversive motivated locomotion with single-cell resolution calcium imaging of M2 neuronal populations in unrestrained mice, to examine the encoding of motivated locomotion within this area. Mice were trained to discriminate three auditory cues: (1) a cue signaling locomotion to avoid an aversive foot shock (aversive motivation), (2) a cue signaling locomotion to obtain a reward (appetitive motivation), and (3) a cue signaling that locomotion would result in a foot shock if performed. Detailed video-tracking analyses were used to estimate locomotion onset times, revealing a consistent sequences of behavioral motifs preceding movement initiation. Preliminary analyses indicate that the encoding of motivated locomotor actions in M2 depends on the motivational valence of the instructive auditory cue, and that the activity of individual neurons can predict the initiation of motivated locomotion. These results provide a framework to dissect the neurobiological underpinnings of cue-driven motivated locomotion, and clarify the involvement of high-order premotor cortical areas in this process.