Retrograde tracing of the neural circuits that control movement of the jaw and tongue reveals how shared premotor neurons help to ensure coordinated muscle activity.

The neuromodulator acetylcholine contributes to state-dependent modulation of motor vigor and variability by direct action on songbird premotor cortex, bypassing basal ganglia circuitry.

A new three-step monosynaptic premotor tracing strategy in adult mice, together with registration to the Allen mouse common coordinate framework, uncovered precise spatial relationships of distinct orofacial premotor circuits in the brainstem.

Coordinated activation and deactivation of inhibitory neurons triggers sequential muscle contractions that enable fruit fly larvae to propel themselves backwards and forwards.

Generation of a premotor/motor neuron comprehensive TEM reconstruction, functional optogenetics, and recurrent network modeling reveals different phase relationships among a subset of Drosophila motor neurons in forward versus backward locomotion.

Gustatory information and hunger state impinge on a local, multilayered circuit that drives feeding initiation.

Laser-ablating neurons of a single genetic class reveals that Dbx1-derived interneurons comprise core respiratory rhythmogenic and premotor circuits and provides quantitative cellular parameters that govern network functionality

Motor neurons are rhythm generators for backward locomotion.

Spinal dI2 interneurons relay peripheral and intraspinal feedback to premotor networks in the spinal cord and the cerebellum to ensure the stability of bipedal stepping.