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| Open AccessPresynaptic gating of monkey proprioceptive signals for proper motor action
The role of presynaptic modulation on peripheral sensory input during voluntary movement is unclear. Here, the authors found it flexibly facilitates and suppresses proprioceptive input to the monkey’s spinal cord, relevant to motor behavior.
- Saeka Tomatsu
- , GeeHee Kim
- & Kazuhiko Seki
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| Open AccessRare phenomena of central rhythm and pattern generation in a case of complete spinal cord injury
The existence of dedicated spinal circuits generating locomotion in humans has remained controversial. Here, the authors study distinct forms of spontaneous and induced rhythmic leg activity in a paralyzed individual, providing insight into spinal rhythmogenesis and pattern formation.
- Karen Minassian
- , Aymeric Bayart
- & Ursula S. Hofstoetter
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| Open AccessUpregulation of breathing rate during running exercise by central locomotor circuits in mice
The neuronal basis for respiratory augmentation during running is poorly understood. Here, the authors identify two neuronal pathways by which the central locomotor network can upregulate respiratory rate in running mice.
- Coralie Hérent
- , Séverine Diem
- & Julien Bouvier
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| Open AccessDeconstructing 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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| Open AccessMicroengineered devices enable long-term imaging of the ventral nerve cord in behaving adult Drosophila
Minimally invasive procedures for tracking neural activity are important for understanding of neural networks. Here the authors describe microfabricated implants and windows that enable long-term recordings of motor circuit activity in Drosophila, allowing them to watch how neurons change their structure and activity over weeks.
- Laura Hermans
- , Murat Kaynak
- & Pavan Ramdya
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| Open AccessLocomotion-induced ocular motor behavior in larval Xenopus is developmentally tuned by visuo-vestibular reflexes
Visual perception works best when eye movement counteracts the effects of body movement. This study describes how such coordination first emerges and matures during development in frog larvae.
- Julien Bacqué-Cazenave
- , Gilles Courtand
- & François M. Lambert
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| Open AccessAn injury-induced serotonergic neuron subpopulation contributes to axon regrowth and function restoration after spinal cord injury in zebrafish
The mechanisms involved in regeneration of the spinal cord after injury are unclear. Here, the authors show that a subpopulation of intraspinal serotonergic neurons localized at the injury site stimulates axonal regrowth of interneurons via 5-HT1B receptor, resulting in recovery of function following SCI in zebrafish.
- Chun-Xiao Huang
- , Yacong Zhao
- & Jianren Song
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| Open AccessTrpm5 channels encode bistability of spinal motoneurons and ensure motor control of hindlimbs in mice
The authors show that Trpm5, but not Trpm4, is the main Na+ -permeant channel mediating the warmth-activated ICaN in lumbar motoneurons. Trpm5 is also critical in generating plateau potentials in bistable motoneurons that are essential for producing a postural tone in hindlimbs and amplifying the locomotor output.
- Rémi Bos
- , Benoît Drouillas
- & Frédéric Brocard
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| Open AccessNoninvasive spinal stimulation safely enables upright posture in children with spinal cord injury
Scoliosis due to trunk muscle paralysis frequently requires surgical treatment in children with spinal cord injury. The authors demonstrate the safety and efficacy of transcutaneous spinal stimulation to enable upright sitting posture in 7/8 children with trunk control impairment in a within-subjects, repeated measures pilot clinical trial.
- Anastasia Keller
- , Goutam Singh
- & Andrea L. Behrman
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| Open AccessA harmonized atlas of mouse spinal cord cell types and their spatial organization
Single-cell profiling has led to the identification of diverse cell types. Here, the authors generate a harmonized cell atlas of the mouse post-natal spinal cord. They also provide spatial analysis of the distribution of the identified cell types and an open-source cell type classifier.
- Daniel E. Russ
- , Ryan B. Patterson Cross
- & Ariel J. Levine
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| Open AccessLocomotion dependent neuron-glia interactions control neurogenesis and regeneration in the adult zebrafish spinal cord
The mechanisms stimulating adult neurogenesis are unclear. Here, the authors show the contribution of cholinergic and GABAergic signalling within the locomotor network to spinal cord neurogenesis during homeostasis and regeneration, showing neurogenesis depends on circuit activity in the adult zebrafish.
- Weipang Chang
- , Andrea Pedroni
- & Konstantinos Ampatzis
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Article
| Open AccessLocomotor deficits in a mouse model of ALS are paralleled by loss of V1-interneuron connections onto fast motor neurons
Here the authors show in a model of ALS that motor neurons receive stronger inhibitory synaptic inputs than slow motor neurons, and disease progression is associated with specific loss of inhibitory synapses onto fast motor neurons.
- Ilary Allodi
- , Roser Montañana-Rosell
- & Ole Kiehn
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| Open AccessSingle nucleus RNA-sequencing defines unexpected diversity of cholinergic neuron types in the adult mouse spinal cord
The full heterogeneity and different functional roles of cholinergic neurons in the adult spinal cord remain to be defined. Here the authors develop a targeted single nuclear RNA sequencing approach and use it to identify an array of cholinergic interneurons, as well as visceral and skeletal motor neurons.
- Mor R. Alkaslasi
- , Zoe E. Piccus
- & Claire E. Le Pichon
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| Open AccessHierarchical control of locomotion by distinct types of spinal V2a interneurons in zebrafish
V2a excitatory interneurons in the spinal cord are important for coordinating locomotion. Here the authors describe two types of V2a neuron with differences in higher order and lower order connectivity in larval zebrafish.
- Evdokia Menelaou
- & David L. McLean
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| Open AccessBrainstem and spinal cord MRI identifies altered sensorimotor pathways post-stroke
There are few studies of structural changes in ascending and descending sensorimotor pathways after stroke, beyond the corticospinal tract, in the brain. Here the authors identify changes in white matter structure in brainstem and spinal cord following stroke, and show its relationship to motor impairment.
- Haleh Karbasforoushan
- , Julien Cohen-Adad
- & Julius P. A. Dewald
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| Open AccessDecoupling of timescales reveals sparse convergent CPG network in the adult spinal cord
Spinal CPGs transmit movement commands through rhythmic synaptic drive onto the spinal premotor network. Here, the authors use paired recordings to demonstrate that spinal neurons have decorrelated synaptic activity suggesting a CPG network with sparse convergent connectivity.
- Marija Radosevic
- , Alex Willumsen
- & Rune W. Berg
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| Open AccessRegulation of locomotor speed and selection of active sets of neurons by V1 neurons
During evoked swims, zebrafish larvae transition from fast to slow speeds. Here, the authors elucidate the circuit mechanisms in the central pattern generators in the spinal cord and show that genetically labeled V1 spinal interneurons provide in phase inhibition onto fast and slow motor neurons that are involved in the switching behaviour.
- Yukiko Kimura
- & Shin-ichi Higashijima
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| Open AccessIntrinsic functional architecture of the non-human primate spinal cord derived from fMRI and electrophysiology
Resting-state fMRI shows networks of correlated activity in the spinal cord, similar to those in the brain, but whether fMRI is a valid measure of functional connectivity in spinal cord is unclear. Here, the authors show that fMRI corresponds well to electrophysiological measures of spinal cord activity.
- Tung-Lin Wu
- , Pai-Feng Yang
- & John C. Gore
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| Open AccessRapid and robust restoration of breathing long after spinal cord injury
Respiratory failure is one of the leading causes of death following spinal cord injury and it is unclear if normal respiratory motor activity can be recovered after chronic injury-induced paralysis. Here, authors show that treatment with chondroitinase ABC induces robust rescue of breathing up to 1.5 years following complete hemidiaphragm paralysis.
- Philippa M. Warren
- , Stephanie C. Steiger
- & Jerry Silver
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| Open AccessLocomotor recovery following contusive spinal cord injury does not require oligodendrocyte remyelination
The contribution of oligodendrocytes to remyelination in functional recovery after spinal cord injury is not fully understood. Here, the authors show that oligodendrocyte progenitor cell differentiation is not required for functional recovery after spinal cord injury in mice.
- Greg J. Duncan
- , Sohrab B. Manesh
- & Wolfram Tetzlaff
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| Open AccessReversible silencing of lumbar spinal interneurons unmasks a task-specific network for securing hindlimb alternation
Intra- and interlimb coordination during locomotion is governed by hierarchically organized lumbar spinal networks. Here, the authors show that reversible silencing of spinal L2–L5 interneurons specifically disrupts hindlimb alternation leading to a continuum of walking to hopping.
- Amanda M. Pocratsky
- , Darlene A. Burke
- & David S. K. Magnuson
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| Open AccessNeuronal sFlt1 and Vegfaa determine venous sprouting and spinal cord vascularization
The generation of vasculature in organs is regulated by cross-talk between the developing tissue and specialized endothelial cells. Here, the authors show that vessel growth feeding the zebrafish spinal cord is coordinated by balancing neuron-derived pro-angiogenic ligand Vegfaa and its receptor, sFlt1.
- Raphael Wild
- , Alina Klems
- & Ferdinand le Noble
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| Open AccessImaging large-scale cellular activity in spinal cord of freely behaving mice
Imaging cellular activity in mouse spinal cord has been historically difficult. Here the authors develop cellular resolution fluorescence imaging approaches in the spinal cord of behaving mice, and report distinct activity patterns of neurons and astrocytes in response to different sensory inputs.
- Kohei J. Sekiguchi
- , Pavel Shekhtmeyster
- & Axel Nimmerjahn
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| Open AccessCiliated neurons lining the central canal sense both fluid movement and pH through ASIC3
Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting (CSF-c) cells line the central canal of the vertebrate spinal cord yet their function remains unknown. Here, Javaland et al. show that CSF-c neurons in the lamprey respond to mechanical stimulation and lowered pH, effects likely mediated by ASIC3-channels.
- Elham Jalalvand
- , Brita Robertson
- & Sten Grillner
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miR-218 is essential to establish motor neuron fate as a downstream effector of Isl1–Lhx3
microRNAs have emerged as important components of numerous gene regulatory networks. Here the authors demonstrate that miR-218 is an essential component of the gene regulatory network that controls motor neuron fate specification in the developing spinal cord.
- Karen P. Thiebes
- , Heejin Nam
- & Soo-Kyung Lee
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Commissural axonal corridors instruct neuronal migration in the mouse spinal cord
During vertebrate embryogenesis, migration of neuronal cell bodies and axons occurs simultaneously, but to what degree they influence each other’s development remains unclear. Here the authors find that in the mouse spinal cord commissural axons influence neuronal migration in two different ways.
- Christophe Laumonnerie
- , Yong Guang Tong
- & Sara I. Wilson
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Frequency-dependent recruitment of V2a interneurons during fictive locomotion in the mouse spinal cord
The spinal V2a interneurons control left–right limb alternation during mouse locomotion, but only at high frequencies. In this study, the authors show that only half of these neurons are active during locomotion, and that they receive increasing synaptic drive to increase their activity as locomotion accelerates.
- Guisheng Zhong
- , Kamal Sharma
- & Ronald M. Harris-Warrick