Increasingly deep understanding of the organization of the mouse brain has been facilitated by advances in genetics, electrophysiology and optical techniques together with development of awake head-restrained behaviors. Here, I will present voltage-sensitive dye imaging data correlating neocortical activity with sensorimotor behavior in awake head-restrained mice. In addition, I will discuss optogenetic manipulations specifically perturbing neural activity to gain causal insight. Our data shed new light on the functional organization of sensorimotor cortex, including a surprising direct role for sensory cortex in motor control in the whisker system.