{
  "abstract": "Goal-directed behavior requires sensory information to be transformed into motor commands, yet the precise temporal structure of communication between sensory and motor cortices during this process remains poorly understood. By simultaneously recording spiking activity from primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and secondary motor cortex (M2) in mice performing a tactile delayed go/no-go task, we identified a brief, stimulus-triggered communication window that predicted behavioral success. Time-shifted canonical correlation analysis revealed a sharp, feedforward surge in S1 → M2 coupling peaking at a short latency, as expected for a potentially direct transmission pathway. This transient interaction conveyed stimulus-selective information such that the S1 → M2 communication subspace aligned with stimulus-coding axes in both regions. In contrast, M2 → S1 feedback interactions were weaker and delayed. Brief optogenetic suppression of S1 reduced both M2 stimulus selectivity and behavioral discriminability, consistent with a functional role of the transient S1 → M2 coupling. These findings demonstrate that sensorimotor transformation is supported not by sustained linear coupling along the stimulus- or choice- axis, but by a short-lived and highly selective feedforward communication channel that rapidly transmits reliable sensory representations into motor-planning circuits.\n\nGoal-directed behavior requires sensory information to be transformed into motor commands, but the structure of this sensorimotor communication in the brain is unclear. This study shows that brief, selective, feedforward coupling transmits sensory representations into motor-planning circuits.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yadollah Ranjbar-Slamloo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tsukasa Kamigaki"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2qr0xwtgfmahe.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095",
  "id": "2qr0xwtgfmahe",
  "issns": [
    "1545-7885"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Cell biology/Cellular types/Animal cells/Neurons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Computational biology/Computational neuroscience/Coding mechanisms"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cellular neuroscience/Neurons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Reaction time"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive neuroscience/Reaction time"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Computational neuroscience/Coding mechanisms"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Mammals/Rodents/Mice"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Animal behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animal behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Mammals/Rodents/Mice"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Equipment/Optical equipment/Lasers"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Animal behavior"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-29",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2qr0xwtgfmahe.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:animal behavior",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Transient feedforward communication between somatosensory and premotor cortex supports goal-directed behavior",
  "title_text": "Transient feedforward communication between somatosensory and premotor cortex supports goal-directed behavior",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:20:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2qr0xwtgfmahe",
  "venue": "PLOS Biology",
  "versions": []
}