Sensation and expectation are embedded in mouse motor cortical activity.

During behavior, the motor cortex sends copies of motor-related signals to sensory cortices. Here, we combine closed-loop behavior with large-scale physiology, projection-pattern-specific recordings, and circuit perturbations to show that neurons in mouse secondary motor cortex (M2) encode sensation and are influenced by expectation. When a movement unexpectedly produces a sound, M2 becomes dominated by sound-evoked activity. Sound responses in M2 are inherited partially from the auditory cortex and are routed back to the auditory cortex, providing a path for the reciprocal exchange of sensory-motor information during behavior. When the acoustic consequences of a movement become predictable, M2 responses to self-generated sounds are selectively gated off. These changes in single-cell responses are reflected in population dynamics, which are influenced by both sensation and expectation. Together, these findings reveal the embedding of sensory and expectation signals in motor cortical activity.