In spite of recent progress in brain sciences, the local circuit of the cerebral neocortex still remains elusive.Morphological works on excitatory cortical circuitry from thalamocortical (TC) afferents to corticospinal neurons (CSNs) in cortical areas are reviewed here.First, TC axons of motor thalamic nuclei have been re-examined by the single neuron labeling method.There are middle layer (ML)-targeting and layer (L) 1-preferring TC axon types in motor-associated areas.