Scholars@Duke
Nuo Li

Nuo Li

Associate Professor of Neurobiology
Neurobiology

Selected Publications

Brain-wide analysis reveals movement encoding structured across and within brain areas.

Journal Article Nat Neurosci · January 2026 Movement-related activity has been detected across much of the brain, including sensory and motor regions. However, much remains unknown regarding the distribution of movement-related activity across brain regions, and how this activity relates to neural c ... Full text Link to item Cite

A brainstem map of orofacial rhythms.

Journal Article bioRxiv · January 27, 2025 Rhythmic orofacial movements, such as eating, drinking, or vocalization, are controlled by distinct premotor oscillator networks in the brainstem. Orofacial movements must be coordinated with rhythmic breathing to avoid aspiration and because they share mu ... Full text Link to item Cite

A combinatorial neural code for long-term motor memory.

Journal Article Nature · January 2025 Motor skill repertoire can be stably retained over long periods, but the neural mechanism that underlies stable memory storage remains poorly understood1-8. Moreover, it is unknown how existing motor memories are maintained as new motor skills are continuo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Brain-wide neural activity underlying memory-guided movement.

Journal Article Cell · February 1, 2024 Behavior relies on activity in structured neural circuits that are distributed across the brain, but most experiments probe neurons in a single area at a time. Using multiple Neuropixels probes, we recorded from multi-regional loops connected to the anteri ... Full text Link to item Cite

Superior colliculus bidirectionally modulates choice activity in frontal cortex.

Journal Article Nat Commun · November 14, 2023 Action selection occurs through competition between potential choice options. Neural correlates of choice competition are observed across frontal cortex and downstream superior colliculus (SC) during decision-making, yet how these regions interact to media ... Full text Link to item Cite

Activity map of a cortico-cerebellar loop underlying motor planning.

Journal Article Nat Neurosci · November 2023 The neocortex and cerebellum interact to mediate cognitive functions. It remains unknown how the two structures organize into functional networks to mediate specific behaviors. Here we delineate activity supporting motor planning in relation to the mesosca ... Full text Link to item Cite

Behavioral measurements of motor readiness in mice.

Journal Article Curr Biol · September 11, 2023 Motor planning facilitates rapid and precise execution of volitional movements. Although motor planning has been classically studied in humans and monkeys, the mouse has become an increasingly popular model system to study neural mechanisms of motor planni ... Full text Link to item Cite

Thalamus-driven functional populations in frontal cortex support decision-making.

Journal Article Nat Neurosci · October 2022 Neurons in frontal cortex exhibit diverse selectivity representing sensory, motor and cognitive variables during decision-making. The neural circuit basis for this complex selectivity remains unclear. We examined activity mediating a tactile decision in mo ... Full text Link to item Cite

A midbrain-thalamus-cortex circuit reorganizes cortical dynamics to initiate movement.

Journal Article Cell · March 17, 2022 Motor behaviors are often planned long before execution but only released after specific sensory events. Planning and execution are each associated with distinct patterns of motor cortex activity. Key questions are how these dynamic activity patterns are g ... Full text Link to item Cite

Modularity and robustness of frontal cortical networks.

Journal Article Cell · July 8, 2021 Neural activity underlying short-term memory is maintained by interconnected networks of brain regions. It remains unknown how brain regions interact to maintain persistent activity while exhibiting robustness to corrupt information in parts of the network ... Full text Link to item Cite

Attractor dynamics gate cortical information flow during decision-making.

Journal Article Nat Neurosci · June 2021 Decisions are held in memory until enacted, which makes them potentially vulnerable to distracting sensory input. Gating of information flow from sensory to motor areas could protect memory from interference during decision-making, but the underlying netwo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Fully autonomous mouse behavioral and optogenetic experiments in home-cage.

Journal Article Elife · May 4, 2021 Goal-directed behaviors involve distributed brain networks. The small size of the mouse brain makes it amenable to manipulations of neural activity dispersed across brain areas, but existing optogenetic methods serially test a few brain regions at a time, ... Full text Link to item Cite

Accurate Localization of Linear Probe Electrode Arrays across Multiple Brains.

Journal Article eNeuro · 2021 Recently developed probes for extracellular electrophysiological recordings have large numbers of electrodes on long linear shanks. Linear electrode arrays, such as Neuropixels probes, have hundreds of recording electrodes distributed over linear shanks th ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cortico-cerebellar interactions during goal-directed behavior.

Journal Article Curr Opin Neurobiol · December 2020 Preparatory activity is observed across multiple interconnected brain regions before goal-directed movement. Preparatory activity reflects discrete activity states representing specific future actions. It is unclear how this activity is mediated by multi-r ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mechanisms underlying the response of mouse cortical networks to optogenetic manipulation.

Journal Article Elife · January 17, 2020 GABAergic interneurons can be subdivided into three subclasses: parvalbumin positive (PV), somatostatin positive (SOM) and serotonin positive neurons. With principal cells (PCs) they form complex networks. We examine PCs and PV responses in mouse anterior ... Full text Link to item Cite

Spatiotemporal constraints on optogenetic inactivation in cortical circuits.

Journal Article Elife · November 18, 2019 Optogenetics allows manipulations of genetically and spatially defined neuronal populations with excellent temporal control. However, neurons are coupled with other neurons over multiple length scales, and the effects of localized manipulations thus spread ... Full text Link to item Cite

Response to "Fallacies of Mice Experiments".

Journal Article Neuroinformatics · October 2019 In a recent Editorial, De Schutter commented on our recent study on the roles of a cortico-cerebellar loop in motor planning in mice (De Schutter 2019, Neuroinformatics, 17, 181-183, Gao et al. 2018, Nature, 563, 113-116). Two issues were raised. First, De ... Full text Link to item Cite

An orderly single-trial organization of population dynamics in premotor cortex predicts behavioral variability.

Journal Article Nat Commun · January 15, 2019 Animals are not simple input-output machines. Their responses to even very similar stimuli are variable. A key, long-standing question in neuroscience is to understand the neural correlates of such behavioral variability. To reveal these correlates, behavi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Metabolomic Analysis of Pollen Grains with Different Germination Abilities from Two Clones of Chinese Fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb) Hook).

Journal Article Molecules · November 30, 2018 Pollen grains produce certain metabolites, which can improve or inhibit germination and tube growth. Metabolomic analysis of germinating and growing Chinese fir pollen has not been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse metabolites changes, conte ... Full text Link to item Cite

A cortico-cerebellar loop for motor planning.

Journal Article Nature · November 2018 Persistent and ramping neural activity in the frontal cortex anticipates specific movements1-6. Preparatory activity is distributed across several brain regions7,8, but it is unclear which brain areas are involved and how this activity is mediated by multi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Specialized Subpopulations of Deep-Layer Pyramidal Neurons in the Neocortex: Bridging Cellular Properties to Functional Consequences.

Journal Article J Neurosci · June 13, 2018 Neocortical pyramidal neurons with somata in layers 5 and 6 are among the most visually striking and enigmatic neurons in the brain. These deep-layer pyramidal neurons (DLPNs) integrate a plethora of cortical and extracortical synaptic inputs along their i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neural mechanisms of movement planning: motor cortex and beyond.

Journal Article Curr Opin Neurobiol · April 2018 Neurons in motor cortex and connected brain regions fire in anticipation of specific movements, long before movement occurs. This neural activity reflects internal processes by which the brain plans and executes volitional movements. The study of motor pla ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Map of Anticipatory Activity in Mouse Motor Cortex.

Journal Article Neuron · May 17, 2017 Activity in the mouse anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) instructs directional movements, often seconds before movement initiation. It is unknown whether this preparatory activity is localized to ALM or widely distributed within motor cortex. Here we imag ... Full text Link to item Cite

Corrigendum: Robust neuronal dynamics in premotor cortex during motor planning (Nature (2016) 532 (459-464); DOI:10.1038/nature17643)

Journal Article Nature · August 24, 2016 We would like to correct several minor errors in this Article. In the Fig. 2b legend, 'z.ast; P > 0.01' should have read '∗ ∗ P > 0.01'. In the Methods 'Photoinhibition' section, the description of galvo step time during photoinhibition of multiple cortica ... Full text Cite

Robust neuronal dynamics in premotor cortex during motor planning.

Journal Article Nature · April 28, 2016 Neural activity maintains representations that bridge past and future events, often over many seconds. Network models can produce persistent and ramping activity, but the positive feedback that is critical for these slow dynamics can cause sensitivity to p ... Full text Link to item Cite

Flow of information underlying a tactile decision in mice

Chapter · January 1, 2016 Motor planning allows us to conceive, plan, and initiate skilled motor behaviors. Motor planning involves activity distributed widely across the cortex. How this activity dynamically comes together to guide movement remains an unsolved problem. We study mo ... Full text Cite

Cortex commands the performance of skilled movement.

Journal Article Elife · December 2, 2015 Mammalian cerebral cortex is accepted as being critical for voluntary motor control, but what functions depend on cortex is still unclear. Here we used rapid, reversible optogenetic inhibition to test the role of cortex during a head-fixed task in which mi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neurodata Without Borders: Creating a Common Data Format for Neurophysiology.

Other Neuron · November 18, 2015 The Neurodata Without Borders (NWB) initiative promotes data standardization in neuroscience to increase research reproducibility and opportunities. In the first NWB pilot project, neurophysiologists and software developers produced a common data format fo ... Full text Link to item Cite

A motor cortex circuit for motor planning and movement.

Journal Article Nature · March 5, 2015 Activity in motor cortex predicts specific movements seconds before they occur, but how this preparatory activity relates to upcoming movements is obscure. We dissected the conversion of preparatory activity to movement within a structured motor cortex cir ... Full text Link to item Cite

Flow of cortical activity underlying a tactile decision in mice.

Journal Article Neuron · January 8, 2014 Perceptual decisions involve distributed cortical activity. Does information flow sequentially from one cortical area to another, or do networks of interconnected areas contribute at the same time? Here we delineate when and how activity in specific areas ... Full text Link to item Cite

Procedures for behavioral experiments in head-fixed mice.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2014 The mouse is an increasingly prominent model for the analysis of mammalian neuronal circuits. Neural circuits ultimately have to be probed during behaviors that engage the circuits. Linking circuit dynamics to behavior requires precise control of sensory s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neural coding during active somatosensation revealed using illusory touch.

Journal Article Nat Neurosci · July 2013 Active sensation requires the convergence of external stimuli with representations of body movements. We used mouse behavior, electrophysiology and optogenetics to dissect the temporal interactions among whisker movement, neural activity and sensation of t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neuronal Learning of Invariant Object Representation in the Ventral Visual Stream Is Not Dependent on Reward

Journal Article The Journal of Neuroscience · May 9, 2012 Neurons at the top of primate ventral visual stream [inferior temporal cortex (IT)] have selectivity for objects that is highly tolerant to variation in the object's appearance on the retina. Previous nonhuman primate (Macaca mulatta Full text Cite

What Response Properties Do Individual Neurons Need to Underlie Position and Clutter “Invariant” Object Recognition?

Journal Article Journal of Neurophysiology · July 2009 Primates can easily identify visual objects over large changes in retinal position—a property commonly referred to as position “invariance.” This ability is widely assumed to depend on neurons in inferior temporal cortex (IT) that can respond sele ... Full text Cite

Unsupervised Natural Experience Rapidly Alters Invariant Object Representation in Visual Cortex

Journal Article Science · September 12, 2008 Object recognition is challenging because each object produces myriad retinal images. Responses of neurons from the inferior temporal cortex (IT) are selective to different objects, yet tolerant (“invariant”) to changes in object position, scale, a ... Full text Cite

Deficits and Recovery in Visuospatial Memory During Head Motion After Bilateral Labyrinthine Lesion

Journal Article Journal of Neurophysiology · September 2006 To keep a stable internal representation of the environment as we move, extraretinal sensory or motor cues are critical for updating neural maps of visual space. Using a memory-saccade task, we studied whether visuospatial updating uses vestibular ... Full text Cite

Updating Visual Space during Motion in Depth

Journal Article Neuron · October 2005 Full text Cite

Primate Memory Saccade Amplitude After Intervened Motion Depends on Target Distance

Journal Article Journal of Neurophysiology · July 2005 To keep a stable internal representation of the visual world as our eyes, head, and body move around, humans and monkeys must continuously adjust neural maps of visual space using extraretinal sensory or motor cues. When such movements include tran ... Full text Cite