Behavioural brain research
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The red nucleus (RN) is a prominent structure in the motor system of mammals and is thought to play a role in the control of limb movement. In the rat, there are contradictory reports concerning its role in controlling movements of the paw and digits in grasping food in skilled reaching tasks. Some studies report severe impairments in the effectiveness of limb movement and impairments in grasping movements, whereas other studies report only mild impairments. ⋯ This change results in a very rapid grasp and an absence of a pause in limb transport during grasping. These impairments and the 'release' of the grasp response suggests that the RN may provide the tonus or supporting framework that momentarily immobilizes the limb so that arpeggio and grasping movements can occur. It is suggested that the function of the RN more generally may be to provide a tonic framework against which the motor cortex can produce more fractionated movements.