The study investigates the neural population dynamics during reaching movements, challenging the traditional view that neural activity in motor cortex represents movement parameters. Instead, it explores the possibility that motor cortex functions as a dynamical system generating rhythmic neural activity. The authors found that motor cortex responses during reaching contain brief but strong oscillatory components, which are unexpected for non-periodic behaviors. These oscillations follow naturally from the preparatory state, suggesting a mechanistic role for preparatory neural activity. The results demonstrate unexpected yet simple structure in the population response, which explains many of the complex features of individual-neuron responses. The study also shows that these rotations of the neural state are consistent across different reaches and conditions, and can be used to predict subsequent states. The findings suggest that non-periodic movements may be generated through neural mechanisms similar to those that produce rhythmic movements.The study investigates the neural population dynamics during reaching movements, challenging the traditional view that neural activity in motor cortex represents movement parameters. Instead, it explores the possibility that motor cortex functions as a dynamical system generating rhythmic neural activity. The authors found that motor cortex responses during reaching contain brief but strong oscillatory components, which are unexpected for non-periodic behaviors. These oscillations follow naturally from the preparatory state, suggesting a mechanistic role for preparatory neural activity. The results demonstrate unexpected yet simple structure in the population response, which explains many of the complex features of individual-neuron responses. The study also shows that these rotations of the neural state are consistent across different reaches and conditions, and can be used to predict subsequent states. The findings suggest that non-periodic movements may be generated through neural mechanisms similar to those that produce rhythmic movements.