Localization of a descending pathway in the spinal cord which is necessary for controlled treadmill locomotion

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Steeves ◽  
Larry M. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Treadmill Locomotion

scholarly journals The spinal control of locomotion and step-to-step variability in left-right symmetry from slow to moderate speeds

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 1119-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charline Dambreville ◽  
Audrey Labarre ◽  
Yann Thibaudier ◽  
Marie-France Hurteau ◽  
Alain Frigon
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Burst Duration ◽  
Relative Distance ◽  
Length Step ◽  
Spatial Parameters ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Adult Cats ◽  
Left Right Asymmetry ◽  
Treadmill Locomotion

When speed changes during locomotion, both temporal and spatial parameters of the pattern must adjust. Moreover, at slow speeds the step-to-step pattern becomes increasingly variable. The objectives of the present study were to assess if the spinal locomotor network adjusts both temporal and spatial parameters from slow to moderate stepping speeds and to determine if it contributes to step-to-step variability in left-right symmetry observed at slow speeds. To determine the role of the spinal locomotor network, the spinal cord of 6 adult cats was transected (spinalized) at low thoracic levels and the cats were trained to recover hindlimb locomotion. Cats were implanted with electrodes to chronically record electromyography (EMG) in several hindlimb muscles. Experiments began once a stable hindlimb locomotor pattern emerged. During experiments, EMG and bilateral video recordings were made during treadmill locomotion from 0.1 to 0.4 m/s in 0.05 m/s increments. Cycle and stance durations significantly decreased with increasing speed, whereas swing duration remained unaffected. Extensor burst duration significantly decreased with increasing speed, whereas sartorius burst duration remained unchanged. Stride length, step length, and the relative distance of the paw at stance offset significantly increased with increasing speed, whereas the relative distance at stance onset and both the temporal and spatial phasing between hindlimbs were unaffected. Both temporal and spatial step-to-step left-right asymmetry decreased with increasing speed. Therefore, the spinal cord is capable of adjusting both temporal and spatial parameters during treadmill locomotion, and it is responsible, at least in part, for the step-to-step variability in left-right symmetry observed at slow speeds.

Localization of Spinal Neurons Activated During Locomotion Using the c-fos Immunohistochemical Method

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 3442-3452 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Dai ◽  
B. R. Noga ◽  
J. R. Douglas ◽  
L. M. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Blocking Agent ◽  
Neuromuscular Blocking ◽  
Ventral Horn ◽  
Afferent Feedback ◽  
Immunohistochemical Method ◽  
Fictive Locomotion ◽  
Adult Cat ◽  
Treadmill Locomotion

The c-fos immunohistochemical method of activity-dependent labeling was used to localize locomotor-activated neurons in the adult cat spinal cord. In decerebrate cats, treadmill locomotion was evoked by electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR). Spontaneous or MLR-evoked fictive locomotion was produced in decerebrate animals paralyzed with a neuromuscular blocking agent. After bouts of locomotion during a 7- to 9-h time period, the animals were perfused and the L3–S1 spinal cord segments removed for immunohistochemistry. Control animals were subjected to the same surgical procedures but no locomotor task. Labeled cells were concentrated in Rexed's laminae III and IV of the dorsal horn and laminae VII, VIII, and X of the intermediate zone/ventral horn after treadmill locomotion. Cells in laminae VII, VIII, and X were labeled after fictive locomotion, but labeling in the dorsal horn was much reduced. In control animals, c- fos labeling was a small fraction of that observed in the locomotor animals. The results suggest that labeled cells in laminae VII, VIII, and X are premotor interneurons involved in the production of locomotion, whereas the laminae III and IV cells are those activated during locomotion due to afferent feedback from the moving limb. c-fos-labeled cells were most numerous in the L5–L7 segments, consistent with the distribution of locomotor activated neurons detected through the use of MLR-evoked field potentials.

A decerebrate adult mouse model for examining the sensorimotor control of locomotion

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 500-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan T. Nakanishi ◽  
Patrick J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Adult Mouse ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Technical Ability ◽  
Anesthetic Drugs ◽  
Treadmill Speed ◽  
Sensorimotor Systems ◽  
Treadmill Locomotion

As wild-type and genetically modified mice are progressively becoming the predominant models for studying locomotor physiology, the technical ability to record sensory and motor components from adult mice, in vivo, are expected to contribute to a better understanding of sensorimotor spinal cord networks. Here, specific technical and surgical details are presented on how to produce an adult decerebrate mouse preparation that can reliably produce sustained bouts of stepping, in vivo, in the absence of anesthetic drugs. Data are presented demonstrating the ability of this preparation to produce stepping during treadmill locomotion, adaptability in its responses to changes in the treadmill speed, and left-right alternation. Furthermore, intracellular recordings from motoneurons and interneurons in the spinal cord are presented from preparations where muscle activity was blocked. Intraaxonal recordings are also presented demonstrating that individual afferents can be recorded using this preparation. These data demonstrate that the adult decerebrate mouse is a tractable preparation for the study of sensorimotor systems.

Recovery of locomotion in cats after severe contusion of the low thoracic spinal cord

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 1504-1525
Author(s):  
Hugo Delivet-Mongrain ◽  
Melvin Dea ◽  
Jean-Pierre Gossard ◽  
Serge Rossignol
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Pattern Generator ◽  
Spinal Level ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Locomotor Recovery ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Treadmill Locomotion

The recovery of quadrupedal treadmill locomotion after a large bilateral contusion at the low thoracic T10 spinal level and the ability to negotiate obstacles were studied for 5 wk in 16 cats. Ten cats were further completely spinalized at T13 and were found to walk with the hindlimbs within 24–72 h. We conclude that the extent of locomotor recovery after large spinal contusions hinges both on remnant supraspinal pathways and on a spinal pattern generator.

scholarly journals Dynamic feet distance: A new functional assessment during treadmill locomotion in normal and thoracic spinal cord injured rats

2017 ◽  
Vol 335 ◽  
pp. 132-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Cardoso Diogo ◽  
Luís Maltez da Costa ◽  
José Eduardo Pereira ◽  
Vítor Filipe ◽  
Pedro Alexandre Couto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Functional Assessment ◽  
Thoracic Spinal Cord ◽  
Thoracic Spinal ◽  
Spinal Cord Injured ◽  
Treadmill Locomotion
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