Krimmel Samuel R, Laumann Timothy O, Chauvin Roselyne J, Hershey Tamara, Roland Jarod L, Shimony Joshua S, Willie Jon T, Norris Scott A, Marek Scott, N Van Andrew, Wang Anxu, Monk Julia, Scheidter Kristen M, Whiting Forrest I, Ramirez-Perez Nadeshka, Metoki Athanasia, Baden Noah J, Kay Benjamin P, Siegel Joshua S, Nahman-Averbuch Hadas, Snyder Abraham Z, Fair Damien A, Lynch Charles J, Raichle Marcus E, Gordon Evan M, Dosenbach Nico U F
Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 10;16(1):3398. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58172-z.
The red nucleus, a large brainstem structure, coordinates limb movement for locomotion in quadrupedal animals. In humans, its pattern of anatomical connectivity differs from that of quadrupeds, suggesting a different purpose. Here, we apply our most advanced resting-state functional connectivity based precision functional mapping in highly sampled individuals (n = 5), resting-state functional connectivity in large group-averaged datasets (combined n ~ 45,000), and task based analysis of reward, motor, and action related contrasts from group-averaged datasets (n > 1000) and meta-analyses (n > 14,000 studies) to precisely examine red nucleus function. Notably, red nucleus functional connectivity with motor-effector networks (somatomotor hand, foot, and mouth) is minimal. Instead, connectivity is strongest to the action-mode and salience networks, which are important for action/cognitive control and reward/motivated behavior. Consistent with this, the red nucleus responds to motor planning more than to actual movement, while also responding to rewards. Our results suggest the human red nucleus implements goal-directed behavior by integrating behavioral valence and action plans instead of serving a pure motor-effector function.
红核是脑干中的一个大型结构，它协调四足动物行走时的肢体运动。在人类中，其解剖学连接模式与四足动物不同，这表明其功能有所不同。在此，我们应用最先进的基于静息态功能连接的精准功能映射技术，对高采样个体（n = 5）进行研究，分析大样本平均数据集（合并后n约为45,000）中的静息态功能连接，并对来自大样本平均数据集（n > 1000）和荟萃分析（n > 14,000项研究）的奖励、运动和动作相关对比进行基于任务的分析，以精确研究红核的功能。值得注意的是，红核与运动效应网络（躯体运动手、足和口）的功能连接极少。相反，它与动作模式网络和突显网络的连接最强，这些网络对动作/认知控制以及奖励/动机行为很重要。与此一致的是，红核对运动计划的反应比对实际运动的反应更强，同时也对奖励有反应。我们的结果表明，人类红核通过整合行为效价和动作计划来实现目标导向行为，而不是发挥单纯的运动效应功能。
