Sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits
Article Date: 2025
Article URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09690-9
Article Title: Sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits
Article Image: (not provided)
Summary
This study examines how expectations about upcoming sensory feedback alter neural population dynamics in motor areas. Using large-scale recordings and task manipulations that changed the predictability of sensory consequences, the authors show that sensory expectation shifts preparatory neural states and changes the trajectories motor circuits take when responding to perturbations or initiating movement. The results link predictive sensory processing with well-known motor preparatory dynamics (including null-space structure) and rapid feedback responses, arguing that motor cortex activity reflects both movement plans and predicted sensory outcomes.
Key Points
- Sensory expectation modifies preparatory neural states in premotor and motor cortex, not just overt motor commands.
- Population trajectories during preparation and response are reshaped by whether sensory feedback is expected, affecting timing and response gain.
- Changes occur at the population level (neural dynamics) rather than solely at single-cell tuning, aligning with dynamical-systems views of motor control.
- Expected sensory input gates fast feedback responses and can speed or slow reaction times by shifting the initial neural state.
- Findings bridge theories of predictive coding, internal models, and optimal feedback control in motor behaviour.
- Datasets supporting the paper are publicly available (Dryad), facilitating replication and modelling work.
Context and relevance
The paper connects two strong currents in motor neuroscience: the dynamical-systems perspective on population activity (preparatory states, null-space dynamics) and the growing evidence that motor areas encode and use sensory predictions. By showing that simply expecting a sensory consequence alters population-level dynamics, the work strengthens the view that motor cortex participates in prediction as well as execution. This matters for fields from basic sensorimotor neuroscience to brain–computer interfaces and rehabilitation: understanding how expectations set neural initial conditions can improve decoding algorithms and therapy design.
Why should I read this?
Short answer: because it explains why your nervous system isn’t just planning moves but also pre-loading what it expects to feel — and that pre-loading changes how the whole population of neurons behaves. If you work on motor control, predictive coding, BCIs or rehab, this saves you time: the authors did the heavy lifting and show how sensory expectations alter the starting point and route of motor neural dynamics — neat, actionable, and relevant.