Reversible silencing of lumbar spinal interneurons unmasks a task-specific network for securing hindlimb alternation.

ABSTRACT: Neural circuitry in the lumbar spinal cord governs two principal features of locomotion, rhythm and pattern, which reflect intra- and interlimb movement. These features are functionally organized into a hierarchy that precisely controls stepping in a stereotypic, speed-dependent fashion. Here, we show that a specific component of the locomotor pattern can be independently manipulated. Silencing spinal L2 interneurons that project to L5 selectively disrupts hindlimb alternation allowing a continuum of walking to hopping to emerge from the otherwise intact network. This perturbation, which is independent of speed and occurs spontaneously with each step, does not disrupt multi-joint movements or forelimb alternation, nor does it translate to a non-weight-bearing locomotor activity. Both the u

SUBMITTER: Pocratsky AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5719045 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature