Neuromuscular Control of Movement

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neuromuscular Control ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Locomotor Rhythm ◽  
Motor Responses ◽  
Reflex Pathways ◽  
Local Reflex ◽  
Local Circuits ◽  
And Control

The control of movement is essential for animals traversing complex environments and operating across a range of speeds and gaits. We consider how animals process sensory information and initiate motor responses, primarily focusing on simple motor responses that involve local reflex pathways of feedback and control, rather than the more complex, longer-term responses that require the broader integration of higher centers within the nervous system. We explore how local circuits facilitate decentralized coordination of locomotor rhythm and examine the fundamentals of sensory receptors located in the muscles, tendons, joints, and at the animal’s body surface. These sensors monitor the animal’s physical environment and the action of its muscles. The sensory information is then carried back to the animal’s nervous system by afferent neurons, providing feedback that is integrated at the level of the spinal cord of vertebrates and sensory-motor ganglia of invertebrates.

scholarly journals Advantages of comparative studies in songbirds to understand the neural basis of sensorimotor integration

2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 800-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karagh Murphy ◽  
Logan S. James ◽  
Jon T. Sakata ◽  
Jonathan F. Prather
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Sensorimotor Integration ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Communication Behaviors ◽  
Song Repertoire ◽  
Evolutionary Variation ◽  
And Control

Sensorimotor integration is the process through which the nervous system creates a link between motor commands and associated sensory feedback. This process allows for the acquisition and refinement of many behaviors, including learned communication behaviors such as speech and birdsong. Consequently, it is important to understand fundamental mechanisms of sensorimotor integration, and comparative analyses of this process can provide vital insight. Songbirds offer a powerful comparative model system to study how the nervous system links motor and sensory information for learning and control. This is because the acquisition, maintenance, and control of birdsong critically depend on sensory feedback. Furthermore, there is an incredible diversity of song organizations across songbird species, ranging from songs with simple, stereotyped sequences to songs with complex sequencing of vocal gestures, as well as a wide diversity of song repertoire sizes. Despite this diversity, the neural circuitry for song learning, control, and maintenance remains highly similar across species. Here, we highlight the utility of songbirds for the analysis of sensorimotor integration and the insights about mechanisms of sensorimotor integration gained by comparing different songbird species. Key conclusions from this comparative analysis are that variation in song sequence complexity seems to covary with the strength of feedback signals in sensorimotor circuits and that sensorimotor circuits contain distinct representations of elements in the vocal repertoire, possibly enabling evolutionary variation in repertoire sizes. We conclude our review by highlighting important areas of research that could benefit from increased comparative focus, with particular emphasis on the integration of new technologies.

scholarly journals Processing of mechanosensory signals in local reflex pathways of the locust

1989 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Afferent Input ◽  
The Other ◽  
Reflex Pathways ◽  
Motor Neurones ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Local Reflex ◽  
Spiking Local Interneurones ◽  
The Stability

The processing of mechanosensory signals responsible for the reflex adjustment of the posture or movement of the legs of the locust is described in terms of the actions and connections of identified neurones. Signals can be followed from the major classes of exteroceptors of a leg, through their various integrative stages in the central nervous system to their emergence as specific patterns in known motor neurones. Particular emphasis is placed on the integrative roles of two classes of local interneurones. The spiking local interneurones map the leg as a series of overlapping receptive fields and reverse the sign of the afferent input. The nonspiking local interneurones control the output of the motor neurones by the graded release of chemical transmitter and can adjust the gain of a local reflex depending on the position and movements of the joints of that leg. The reflex movements of one leg must not impair the stability of the animal and must therefore be influenced by events at the other legs. Populations of intersegmental interneurones convey sensory information from one segment to another to ensure such coordination. These interneurones do not produce stereotyped intersegmental reflexes but, instead, alter the performance of a local reflex in a distant leg by making synaptic connections with nonspiking local interneurones. These connections change the effectiveness of the outputs to the motor neurones and consequently the local reflex. The local interneurones therefore play a crucial role both in the production of local reflexes and in the integration of these actions with the movements of the other legs.

The Effects of a Neutral Stimulus (Buzzer) on Motor Responses and Disfluencies in Normal Speakers

1969 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Martin ◽  
Gerald M. Siegel
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Neutral Stimulus ◽  
Motor Responses ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
And Control ◽  
Speaking Task

Seventy-two college students were divided into three groups: Button Push-Speech (BP-S), Speech-Button Push (S-BP), and Control. BP-S subjects pushed one of two buttons on signal for 8 min. During the last 4 min, depression of the criterion button caused a buzzer to sound. After the button-push task, subjects spoke spontaneously for 30 min. During the last 20 min, the buzzer was presented contingent upon each disfluency. S-BP subjects were run under the same procedures, but the order of button-push and speech tasks was reversed. Control subjects followed the same procedures as S-BP subjects, but no buzzer signal was presented at any time. Both S-BP and BP-S subjects emitted significantly fewer disfluencies during the last 20 min (Conditioning) than during the first 10 min (Baserate) of the speaking task. The frequency of disfluencies for Control subjects did not change significantly from Baserate to Conditioning. In none of the three groups did the frequency of pushes on the criterion button change significantly from minute to minute throughout the 8-min button-push session.

Adipocytes-released Peptides Involved in the Control of Gastrointestinal Motility

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 614-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eglantina Idrizaj ◽  
Rachele Garella ◽  
Roberta Squecco ◽  
Maria Caterina Baccari
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Gastrointestinal Motility ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Motor Responses ◽  
Gastrointestinal Motor ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

The present review focuses on adipocytes-released peptides known to be involved in the control of gastrointestinal motility, acting both centrally and peripherally. Thus, four peptides have been taken into account: leptin, adiponectin, nesfatin-1, and apelin. The discussion of the related physiological or pathophysiological roles, based on the most recent findings, is intended to underlie the close interactions among adipose tissue, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. The better understanding of this complex network, as gastrointestinal motor responses represent peripheral signals involved in the regulation of food intake through the gut-brain axis, may also furnish a cue for the development of either novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of obesity and eating disorders or potential diagnostic tools.

Biohybrid robots are synthetic biology systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ayers
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Chemical Senses ◽  
Biomimetic Robots ◽  
Control Schemes ◽  
Induced Pluripotent ◽  
And Control ◽  
And Robotics

This chapter describes how synthetic biology and organic electronics can integrate neurobiology and robotics to form a basis for biohybrid robots and synthetic neuroethology. Biomimetic robots capture the performance advantages of animal models by mimicking the behavioral control schemes evolved in nature, based on modularized devices that capture the biomechanics and control principles of the nervous system. However, current robots are blind to chemical senses, difficult to miniaturize, and require chemical batteries. These obstacles can be overcome by integration of living engineered cells. Synthetic biology seeks to build devices and systems from fungible gene parts (gene systems coding different proteins) integrated into a chassis (induced pluripotent eukaryotic cells, yeast, or bacteria) to produce devices with properties not found in nature. Biohybrid robots are examples of such systems (interacting sets of devices). A nascent literature describes genes that can mediate organ levels of organization. Such capabilities, applied to biohybrid systems, portend truly biological robots guided, controlled, and actuated solely by life processes.

New concepts on the structure of the neuronal networks: The miniaturization and hierarchical organization of the central nervous system*

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi F. Agnati ◽  
Kjell Fuxe
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neuronal Networks ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Information Handling ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Local Circuits ◽  
The Relationship

The hypothesis is introduced that miniaturization of neuronal circuits in the central nervous system and the hierarchical organization of the various levels, where information handling can take place, may be the key to understand the enormous capability of the human brain to store engrams as well as its astonishing capacity to reconstruct and organize engrams and thus to perform highly sophisticated integrations. The concept is also proposed that in order to understand the relationship between the structural and functional plasticity of the central nervous system it is necessary to postulate the existence of memory storage at the network level, at the local circuit level, at the synaptic level, at the membrane level, and finally at the molecular level. Thus, memory organization is similar to the hierarchical organization of the various levels, where information handling takes place in the nervous system. In addition, each higher level plays a role in the reconstruction and organization of the engrams stored at lower levels. Thus, the trace of the functionally stored memory (i.e. its reconstruction and organization at various levels of storage) will depend not only on the chemicophysical changes in the membranes of the local circuits but also on the organization of the local circuits themselves and their associated neuronal networks.

Interleukin-1β and neurogenic control of blood pressure in normal rats and rats with chronic renal failure

2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (6) ◽  
pp. H2786-H2796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaohua Ye ◽  
Pantea Mozayeni ◽  
Michael Gamburd ◽  
Huiqin Zhong ◽  
Vito M. Campese
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Renal Failure ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Chronic Renal Failure ◽  
Lateral Ventricle ◽  
Mrna Abundance ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Local Expression

Increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity plays a role in the genesis of hypertension in rats with chronic renal failure (CRF). The rise in central SNS activity is mitigated by increased local expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) mRNA and NO2/NO3 production. Because interleukin (IL)-1β may activate nitric oxide in the brain, we have tested the hypothesis that IL-1β may modulate the activity of the SNS via regulation of the local expression of neuronal NOS (nNOS) in the brain of CRF and control rats. To this end, we first found that administration of IL-1β in the lateral ventricle of control and CRF rats decreased blood pressure and norepinephrine (NE) secretion from the posterior hypothalamus (PH) and increased NOS mRNA expression. Second, we observed that an acute or chronic injection of an IL-1β-specific antibody in the lateral ventricle raised blood pressure and NE secretion from the PH and decreased NOS mRNA abundance in the PH of control and CRF rats. Finally, we measured the IL-1β mRNA abundance in the PH, locus coeruleus, and paraventricular nuclei of CRF and control rats by RT-PCR and found it to be greater in CRF rats than in control rats. In conclusion, these studies have shown that IL-1β modulates the activity of the SNS in the central nervous system and that this modulation is mediated by increased local expression of nNOS mRNA.

Special Considerations in Administering the Quick Test to Mentally Retarded and Central Nervous System-Impaired Subjects

1981 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 308-310
Author(s):  
Bill D. Persinger
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Mentally Retarded ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Quick Test ◽  
And Control

Eight special considerations are reported for use with the Quick Test (Ammons & Ammons, 1962) when testing mentally retarded or central nervous system-impaired subjects. Use of these techniques may result in a more accurate IQ. The techniques pertain to the manner of presenting stimuli, examiner's empathy, subject's self-perception, and control of guessing. The techniques are intended to supplement directions that appear in the Quick Test manual.

scholarly journals Embodied intelligence via learning and evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agrim Gupta ◽  
Silvio Savarese ◽  
Surya Ganguli ◽  
Li Fei-Fei
Keyword(s):  
Intelligent Control ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Baldwin Effect ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Embodied Intelligence ◽  
And Control

AbstractThe intertwined processes of learning and evolution in complex environmental niches have resulted in a remarkable diversity of morphological forms. Moreover, many aspects of animal intelligence are deeply embodied in these evolved morphologies. However, the principles governing relations between environmental complexity, evolved morphology, and the learnability of intelligent control, remain elusive, because performing large-scale in silico experiments on evolution and learning is challenging. Here, we introduce Deep Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning (DERL): a computational framework which can evolve diverse agent morphologies to learn challenging locomotion and manipulation tasks in complex environments. Leveraging DERL we demonstrate several relations between environmental complexity, morphological intelligence and the learnability of control. First, environmental complexity fosters the evolution of morphological intelligence as quantified by the ability of a morphology to facilitate the learning of novel tasks. Second, we demonstrate a morphological Baldwin effect i.e., in our simulations evolution rapidly selects morphologies that learn faster, thereby enabling behaviors learned late in the lifetime of early ancestors to be expressed early in the descendants lifetime. Third, we suggest a mechanistic basis for the above relationships through the evolution of morphologies that are more physically stable and energy efficient, and can therefore facilitate learning and control.

scholarly journals Integrated Patterning Programs During Drosophila Development Generate the Diversity of Neurons and Control Their Mature Properties

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony M. Rossi ◽  
Shadi Jafari ◽  
Claude Desplan
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neural Stem Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Temporal Patterning ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Neuronal Types ◽  
And Control

During the approximately 5 days of Drosophila neurogenesis (late embryogenesis to the beginning of pupation), a limited number of neural stem cells produce approximately 200,000 neurons comprising hundreds of cell types. To build a functional nervous system, neuronal types need to be produced in the proper places, appropriate numbers, and correct times. We discuss how neural stem cells (neuroblasts) obtain so-called area codes for their positions in the nervous system (spatial patterning) and how they keep time to sequentially produce neurons with unique fates (temporal patterning). We focus on specific examples that demonstrate how a relatively simple patterning system (Notch) can be used reiteratively to generate different neuronal types. We also speculate on how different modes of temporal patterning that operate over short versus long time periods might be linked. We end by discussing how specification programs are integrated and lead to the terminal features of different neuronal types. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Volume 44 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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