Phase-specific premotor inhibition modulates leech rhythmic motor output.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how motoneuron activity is finely tuned remains an open question. Leeches are a highly suitable organism for studying motor control due to their well-characterized behaviors and relatively simple nervous system. On solid surfaces, leeches display crawling, a rhythmic motor pattern that can be elicited in the isolated nerve cord or even in single ganglia isolated from it. This study aimed to learn how this motor output is shaped by concurrent premotor signals. Specifically, we analyzed how electrophysiological manipulation of a premotor nonspiking (NS) neuron, which forms a recurrent inhibitory circuit (analogous to that formed by vertebrate Renshaw cells), shapes the leech crawling motor pattern. The study included a quantitative analysis of putative motor units active throug

SUBMITTER: Radice M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12782552 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature