SUMMARY Moving is thought to take separate preparation and execution steps. While preparing, neural activity in primary motor and dorsal premotor cortices achieves a state specific to an upcoming action, but movements are not performed until the execution phase. We investigated whether this preparatory state (more precisely, prepare-and-hold state) is required for movement execution using two complementary experiments. We compared monkeys’ neural activity during delayed and non-delayed reaches, and in a delayed reaching task in which the target switched locations on a small percentage of trials. Neural population activity bypassed the prepare-and-hold state both in the absence of a delay and if the wrong reach was prepared. However, the initial neural response to the target was similar across behavioral conditions. This suggests that the prepare-and-hold state can be bypassed if needed, but there is a short-latency preparatory step which is performed prior to movement even without a delay.

Highlights d For population analyses, spike sorting has a minor impact on estimates of neural state d Multiunit activity creates a random projection of the lowdimensional neural state d Results from three prior studies in macaque PMd/M1 are replicated without spike sorting d Neuropixels probes provided high-quality unit isolation to validate findings

Motor cortex (M1) has lateralized outputs, yet neurons can be active during movements of either arm. What is the nature and role of activity across the two hemispheres? We recorded muscles and neurons bilaterally while monkeys cycled with each arm. Most neurons were active during movement of either arm. Responses were strongly arm-dependent, raising two possibilities. First, population-level signals might differ depending on the arm used. Second, the same population-level signals might be present, but distributed differently across neurons. The data supported this second hypothesis. Muscle activity was accurately predicted by activity in either the ipsilateral or contralateral hemisphere. More generally, we failed to find signals unique to the contralateral hemisphere. Yet if signals are shared across hemispheres, how do they avoid impacting the wrong arm? We found that activity related to each arm occupies a distinct subspace, enabling muscle-activity decoders to naturally ignore signals related to the other arm.

Motor preparation typically precedes movement and is thought to determine properties of upcoming movements. However, preparation has mostly been studied in point-to-point delayed reaching tasks. Here, we ask whether preparation is engaged during mid-reach modifications. Monkeys reach to targets that occasionally jump locations prior to movement onset, requiring a mid-reach correction. In motor cortex and dorsal premotor cortex, we find that the neural activity that signals when to reach predicts monkeys’ jump responses on a trial-by-trial basis. We further identify neural patterns that signal where to reach, either during motor preparation or during motor execution. After a target jump, neural activity responds in both preparatory and movement-related dimensions, even though error in preparatory dimensions can be small at that time. This suggests that the same preparatory process used in delayed reaching is also involved in reach correction. Furthermore, it indicates that motor preparation and execution can be performed simultaneously.