Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Gap junctions and motor behavior.

Ole Kiehn1, Matthew C Tresch

  • 1Dept of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Retzius Vag 8, S-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden. Ole.Kiehn@neuro.ki.se

Trends in Neurosciences
|January 30, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A hypothalamus-brainstem circuit governs the prioritization of safety over essential needs.

Nature neuroscience·2025
Same author

Prediction of isometric forces from combined epidural spinal cord and neuromuscular electrical stimulation in the rat lower limb.

Scientific reports·2024
Same author

Spinal inhibitory neurons degenerate before motor neurons and excitatory neurons in a mouse model of ALS.

Science advances·2024
Same author

Excitatory Spinal Lhx9-Derived Interneurons Modulate Locomotor Frequency in Mice.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2024
Same author

Basal ganglia-spinal cord pathway that commands locomotor gait asymmetries in mice.

Nature neuroscience·2024
Same author

Dopamine and noradrenaline activate spinal astrocyte endfeet via D1-like receptors.

The European journal of neuroscience·2023
Same journal

A large brain adds new types of neurons: Molecular and functional signatures of spindle neurons in the human neocortex.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Exercise as a regulator of glymphatic function.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

The neural basis of laughter.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Enteric neuroimmune interactions in health and disease.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Atomic insights into the physiological and functional diversity of NMDA receptors.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
Same journal

Cognitive functions of the GPe.

Trends in neurosciences·2026
See all related articles

Electrical gap-junction coupling is crucial for motor behavior coordination in young vertebrates. This review suggests it also plays a key role in adult mammals, challenging the chemical synapse assumption.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Motor behavior relies on coordinated neural networks.
  • Chemical synapses are traditionally considered the primary mechanism for neural coordination.
  • Electrical gap junctions facilitate direct cell-to-cell communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evidence for electrical gap-junction coupling in motor control.
  • To explore the role of gap junctions in embryonic and early postnatal motor development.
  • To hypothesize the contribution of gap junctions to adult motor behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent research data.
  • Analysis of studies on gap-junction protein expression.
  • Examination of studies on gap-junction structures in spinal cord networks.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Electrical gap-junction coupling is vital for motor output coordination in early life.
  • Gap-junction proteins and structures are widely expressed in the adult mammalian spinal cord.
  • Existing data support a significant role for electrical coupling in motor control.

Conclusions:

  • Electrical gap-junction coupling is a key mechanism for motor coordination beyond chemical synapses.
  • The prevalent expression of gap junctions suggests a continued role in adult motor function.
  • Neuronal gap-junction coupling likely contributes significantly to motor behavior production throughout life.