A command neuron is an interneuron whose excitation is both necessary and sufficient to evoke a behavior. These criteria are often tested by:
- Recording the activity of the command neuron during stimulus presentation that triggers a given behavior.
- Showing that the behavior cannot be evoked after removal of the command neuron (necessary).
- Stimulation of the command neuron can elicit the behavior (sufficient).[1] In some cases, a group of interneurons together form a command system while the individual members, known as command-like neurons, may not satisfy both the necessity and sufficiency criteria.[2]