{"id":2480,"date":"2014-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/news-release\/salk-scientists-reveal-circuitry-of-fundamental-motor-circuit\/"},"modified":"2014-05-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T07:00:00","slug":"salk-scientists-reveal-circuitry-of-fundamental-motor-circuit","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/salk-scientists-reveal-circuitry-of-fundamental-motor-circuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Salk scientists reveal circuitry of fundamental motor circuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nLA JOLLA\u2014Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered the developmental source for a key type of neuron that allows animals to walk, a finding that could help pave the way for new therapies for spinal cord injuries or other motor impairments related to disease.\n<\/p>\n

\"Martyn<\/p>\n

\nMartyn Goulding, Professor – Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Frederick W. and Joanna J. Mitchell Chair\n <\/p>\n

\nImagen: Cortes\u00eda del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nThe spinal cord contains a network of neurons that are able to operate largely in an autonomous manner, thus allowing animals to carry out simple rhythmic walking movements with minimal attention\u2014giving us the ability, for example, to walk while talking on the phone. These circuits control properties such as stepping with each foot or pacing the tempo of walking or running.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe researchers, led by Salk professor Martyn Goulding<\/a>, identified for the first time which neurons in the spinal cord were responsible for controlling a key output of this locomotion circuit, namely the ability to synchronously activate and deactivate opposing muscles to create a smooth bending motion (dubbed flexor-extensor alternation). The findings were published April 2 in Neuron<\/a><\/em>.\n<\/p>\n

\nMotor circuits in the spinal cord are assembled from six major types of interneurons\u2014cells that interface between nerves descending from the brain and nerves that activate or inhibit muscles. Goulding and his team had previously implicated one class of interneuron, the V1 interneurons, as being a likely key component of the flexor-extensor circuitry. However when V1 interneurons were removed, the team saw that flexor-extensor activity was still intact, leading them to suspect another type of cell was also involved in coordinating this aspect of movement.\n<\/p>\n

\"V2b<\/p>\n

\nV2b interneurons, responsible for a key locomotion circuit, appear as green with yellow nuclei in a spinal cord while all other neurons are red.\n <\/p>\n

\nImagen: Cortes\u00eda del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nTo determine what other interneurons were at play in the flexor-extensor circuit, the team looked for other cells in the spinal cord with properties that were similar to those of the V1 neurons. In doing this they began to focus on another class of neuron, whose function was not known, V2b interneurons. Using a specialized experimental setup that allows one to monitor locomotion in the spinal cord itself, the team saw a synchronous pattern of flexor and extensor activity when V2b interneurons were inactivated along with the V1 interneurons.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe team also showed that this synchronicity led to newborn mice displaying a tetanus-like reaction when the two types of interneurons were inactivated: the limbs froze in one position because they no longer had the push-pull balance of excitation and inhibition that is needed to move.\n<\/p>\n

\nThese findings further confirm the hypothesis put forward over 120 years ago by the Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist, Charles Sherrington, that flexor-extensor alternation is essential for locomotion in all animals that have limbs. He proposed that specialized cells in the spinal cord called switching cells performed this function. After 120 years, Goulding and researchers have now uncovered the identity of these switching cells.\n<\/p>\n

\"Ankle<\/p>\n

\nAnkle motor neurons (blue) show the inhibitory synaptic contacts (red) on their cell bodies, some of which are derived from V2b interneurons (yellow).\n <\/p>\n

\nImagen: Cortes\u00eda del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n“Our whole motor system is built around flexor-extension; this is the cornerstone component of movement,” says Goulding, holder of Salk’s Frederick W. and Joanna J. Mitchell Chair. “If you really want to understand how animals move you need to understand the contribution of these switching cells.”\n<\/p>\n

\nWith a more thorough understanding of the basic science around how this flexor-extensor circuit works, scientists will be in a better position to, for example, create a system that can reactivate the spinal cord or mimic signals sent from the brain to the spinal cord.\n<\/p>\n

\nAcerca del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos:<\/strong><\/p>\n

El Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos es una de las instituciones de investigaci\u00f3n b\u00e1sica m\u00e1s destacadas del mundo, donde un cuerpo docente de prestigio internacional investiga cuestiones fundamentales de las ciencias de la vida en un entorno \u00fanico, colaborativo y creativo. Centrados tanto en el descubrimiento como en la formaci\u00f3n de las futuras generaciones de investigadores, los cient\u00edficos del Salk realizan contribuciones revolucionarias a nuestra comprensi\u00f3n del c\u00e1ncer, el envejecimiento, el Alzheimer, la diabetes y las enfermedades infecciosas mediante el estudio de la neurociencia, la gen\u00e9tica, la biolog\u00eda celular y vegetal, y otras disciplinas relacionadas.\n<\/p>\n

\nLos logros del cuerpo docente han sido reconocidos con numerosos galardones, entre los que se incluyen premios Nobel y la pertenencia a la Academia Nacional de Ciencias. Fundado en 1960 por el Dr. Jonas Salk, pionero en la vacuna contra la poliomielitis, el Instituto es una organizaci\u00f3n independiente sin fines de lucro y un hito arquitect\u00f3nico.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","faculty":[75],"disease-research":[124,160],"class_list":["post-2480","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","hentry","faculty-martyn-goulding","disease-research-neuroscience-and-neurological-disorders","disease-research-spinal-cord-injury"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSalk scientists reveal circuitry of fundamental motor circuit - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/salk-scientists-reveal-circuitry-of-fundamental-motor-circuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Salk scientists reveal circuitry of fundamental motor circuit - 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