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Article
| Open Access
Parabrachial tachykinin1-expressing neurons involved in state-dependent breathing control
Breathing is controlled automatically but is also conditionally integrated with behavior and emotion in awake animals. Here, authors identify brainstem neurons that are important for controlling awake-state-dependent breathing patterns in mice.
- Joseph W. Arthurs
- , Anna J. Bowen
- & Nathan A. Baertsch
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Article
| Open Access
Deconstructing the modular organization and real-time dynamics of mammalian spinal locomotor networks
Where and how the command signal for initiation of locomotion is integrated in the spinal cord has remained unresolved. Here, the authors uncover the functional chain of this signal from the brainstem locomotor command areas to neurons in the spinal cord.
- Li-Ju Hsu
- , Maëlle Bertho
- & Ole Kiehn
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Article
| Open Access
A medullary centre for lapping in mice
Orofacial movements for feeding can be triggered, coordinated and rhythmically organised at the level of the brainstem. Here, the authors show two nuclei can organise the stereotyped movements for ingesting fluids in mammals, these neuronal groups are marked by expression of Phox2b and are located in the intermediate reticular formation of the medulla and around the motor nucleus of the trigeminal nerve.
- Bowen Dempsey
- , Selvee Sungeelee
- & Jean-François Brunet
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Article
| Open Access
Regulation of coordinated muscular relaxation in Drosophila larvae by a pattern-regulating intersegmental circuit
Patterned movements in animals are achieved through combinations of contraction and delayed relaxation of muscles. Here, the authors identify a class of cholinergic higher-order premotor interneurons that regulates muscular relaxation during backward locomotion of Drosophila larvae.
- Atsuki Hiramoto
- , Julius Jonaitis
- & Akinao Nose
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Article
| Open Access
Plasticity of muscle synergies through fractionation and merging during development and training of human runners
Motor commands for human locomotion are generated by combination of muscle synergies. In humans, muscle synergies for running exhibit considerable plasticity during child-to-adult development and adult training to meet the constantly changing biomechanical and efficiency demands.
- Vincent C. K. Cheung
- , Ben M. F. Cheung
- & Roy T. H. Cheung
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Article
| Open Access
The interdependence of excitation and inhibition for the control of dynamic breathing rhythms
Excitatory neurons in the preBötzinger Complex generate bursting activity responsible for breathing, but these alone cannot generate physiological breathing frequencies. Here the authors show how inhibition regulates refractory properties of excitatory neurons to allow dynamic breathing rhythms.
- Nathan Andrew Baertsch
- , Hans Christopher Baertsch
- & Jan Marino Ramirez
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Article
| Open Access
A V0 core neuronal circuit for inspiration
The developmental origin and functional organization of the brainstem breathing circuits are poorly understood. Here using virus-based circuit-mapping approaches in mice, the authors reveal the lineage, neurotransmitter phenotype, and connectivity patterns of phrenic premotor neurons, which are a crucial component of the inspiratory circuit.
- Jinjin Wu
- , Paolo Capelli
- & Gilles Fortin
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Vocalization frequency and duration are coded in separate hindbrain nuclei
Vocal communication is relatively common among fish: the midshipman being an example with a particularly wide dynamic range. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that different populations of hindbrain neurons are responsible for the frequency and duration of these calls.
- Boris P. Chagnaud
- , Robert Baker
- & Andrew H. Bass
Upregulation of breathing rate during running exercise by central locomotor circuits in mice