{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,16]],"date-time":"2026-04-16T07:13:47Z","timestamp":1776323627096,"version":"3.50.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]]},"group-title":"Neuroscience","reference-count":96,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]],"date-time":"2025-10-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760659200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The motor cortex supports various cognitive and motor functions. To prevent interference between these processes, the associated neural dynamics may be organized into orthogonal subspaces. In this \u2018subspace model\u2019, activity in a \u2018movement-null\u2019 subspace encodes internal processes, while activity in a \u2018movement-potent\u2019 subspace relates to movements. The biological implementation of this model \u2013 how activity in different subspaces map onto neural circuits \u2013 remains unclear. Particularly, it is unknown whether different cell types, with specific connectivity patterns, preferentially contribute to specific subspaces. Here, we test whether the cell type that directly links motor cortex to motor centers in the medulla and spinal cord \u2013 lower layer 5b extratelencephalic neurons (L-ETN) \u2013 preferentially encodes activity contained in the movement-potent subspace. We performed cell-type-specific recordings in the motor cortex while mice performed a delayed-response licking task, and decomposed population activity into movement-null and movement-potent subspaces. We find that L-ETN activity spans both movement-null and movement-potent subspaces in a manner that could not be distinguished from the broader motor cortex population. Notably, downstream medullary circuits retain a subset of the movement-null dynamics contained in motor cortex, with select movement-null signals specifically filtered out. These results indicate that a distinct cortical output alone does not mediate the cancelation of \u2018null\u2019 dynamics; movement-null computations are instead distributed across the descending motor hierarchy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.10.17.682917","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,18]],"date-time":"2025-10-18T00:45:22Z","timestamp":1760748322000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Mapping neural subspace dynamics onto the structure of the mouse descending motor system"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-4827-6988","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Munib A.","family":"Hasnain","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6403-6534","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yujin","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9893-1505","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael N.","family":"Economo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1976.39.5.1062"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1966.29.6.1011"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1073858414541484"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature17643"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-092021-121730"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-062111-150509"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2015.03.024"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-072116-031407"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aay0001"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2013.10.020"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2019.07.008"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tins.2018.08.011","article-title":"Neural Circuits for Goal-Directed Sensorimotor Transformations","volume":"42","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trends in Neurosciences"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2015.03.006"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.14","unstructured":"Graziano, M. S. A. Feedback Remapping and the cortical control of movement. in Motor Learning and Neural Plasticity."},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00221-012-3041-8"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn1427"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn963"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e50962","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.50962","article-title":"Mechanisms that allow cortical preparatory activity without inappropriate movement","volume":"9","year":"2020","journal-title":"eLife"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms13239"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-021-25558-8"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.3643"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2010.09.015"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00892.2011"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lopes, G. et al. A robust role for motor cortex. Front. Neurosci. 17, (2023).","DOI":"10.3389\/fnins.2023.971980"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.4342"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tins.2016.11.006"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature14178"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.3749885"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.02.19.639049"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-024-55016-0"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2020.06.006"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1703668114"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41583-024-00796-z"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2012.08.058"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-092619-094115"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2017.05.025"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-025-02031-z"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.Neuron.2019.01.026"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"640","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-024-01859-1","article-title":"Separating cognitive and motor processes in the behaving mouse","volume":"28","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2024.08.12.607361"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2018.09.030"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature12742"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kleinman, M. et al. A cortical information bottleneck during decision-making. eLife 12, (2023).","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.89369.1"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-023-06812-z"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-03950-0"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-03970-w"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.4759-11.2012"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-022-01041-5"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Christensen, A. J. , Ott, T. & Kepecs, A . Cognition and the single neuron: How cell types construct the dynamic computations of frontal cortex. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 77, 102630 (2022).","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2022.102630"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0150-18.2018"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/4.2.166"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.neuro.31.060407.125547"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-018-0642-9"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2009.12.010"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2012.12.006"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0006-8993(79)90189-6"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zagha, E. The Importance of Accounting for Movement When Relating Neuronal Activity to Sensory and Cognitive Processes | Journal of Neuroscience. https:\/\/www.jneurosci.org\/content\/42\/8\/1375#ref-90 (2022).","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1919-21.2021"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2023.12.035"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.3152-17.2018"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-022-04478-7"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.02511"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"631","DOI":"10.1016\/S0149-7634(96)00045-0","article-title":"Motor and Premotor Mechanisms of Licking","volume":"21","year":"1997","journal-title":"Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.01.27.635041"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0006-8993(76)90284-5"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.65","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-019-0502-4"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.66","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-03652-7"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.67","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2023.07.18.549575"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.68","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-023-01490-6"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.69","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2023.06.08.544257"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.70","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100555","DOI":"10.1016\/j.patter.2022.100555","article-title":"A scale-dependent measure of system dimensionality","volume":"3","year":"2022","journal-title":"Patterns"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.71","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-022-01041-5"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.72","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2023.03.02.530651"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.73","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-022-01220-4"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.74","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2011.07.010"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.75","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2023.06.26.546404"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.76","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1976.39.5.1069"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.77","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"298","DOI":"10.1177\/1073858418805427","article-title":"Twitches, Blinks, and Fidgets: Important Generators of Ongoing Neural Activity","volume":"25","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuroscientist"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.78","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tins.2014.05.001"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.79","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0165-0173(02)00188-1"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.80","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/44145"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.81","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2024.06.20.599927"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.82","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2010.09.001"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.83","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2018.01.004"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.84","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-018-0209-y"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.85","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature24636"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.86","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abf4588"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.87","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/101030"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.88","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41592-024-02232-7"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.89","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5281\/zenodo.8172822"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.90","first-page":"1455","article-title":"Manopt, a Matlab Toolbox for Optimization on Manifolds","volume":"15","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Machine Learning Research"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.91","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108006","DOI":"10.1016\/j.celrep.2020.108006","article-title":"Structure in Neural Activity during Observed and Executed Movements Is Shared at the Neural Population Level, Not in Single Neurons","volume":"32","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cell Reports"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.92","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1008591","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1008591","article-title":"Estimating the dimensionality of the manifold underlying multi-electrode neural recordings","volume":"17","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLOS Computational Biology"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.93","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2218","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2025.01.041","article-title":"A deep learning strategy to identify cell types across species from high-density extracellular recordings","volume":"188","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cell"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.94","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, L. D. et al. Accurate Localization of Linear Probe Electrode Arrays across Multiple Brains. eNeuro 8, (2021).","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.02.25.965210"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.95","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.3648"},{"key":"2025102205000505000_2025.10.17.682917v1.96","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"de Leeuw, J. & Meijer, E . Handbook of Multilevel Analysis. vols 401\u2013433 (Springer, New York, 2008).","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-73186-5"}],"container-title":[],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1101\/2025.10.17.682917","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,15]],"date-time":"2026-01-15T09:50:34Z","timestamp":1768470634000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/biorxiv.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.1101\/2025.10.17.682917"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]]},"references-count":96,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1101\/2025.10.17.682917","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}