Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

Alterations in Muscle Tone ll

Alterations in Muscle Tone ll

Alterations in muscle tone are common manifestations of neurological disorders and reflect dysfunction within different nervous system regions. Spasticity, paratonia, and dystonia represent distinct forms of hypertonia, each with unique mechanisms, clinical features, and diagnostic importance.CharacteristicsSpasticity happens from upper motor neuron lesions and is characterized by velocity-dependent resistance to passive movement. Clinical features include:Exaggerated deep tendon reflexesClonus...

Alterations in Muscle Tone lll

Alterations in Muscle Tone lll

Rigidity and myotonia are distinct abnormalities of muscle tone that affect resistance and relaxation during movement. Although both involve altered muscle contraction, they arise from different neurological and muscular mechanisms.CharacteristicsRigidity is characterized by uniform resistance to passive movement across the entire range, independent of speed, affecting flexors and extensors equally. It may appear as lead-pipe rigidity (smooth, constant resistance) or cogwheel rigidity...

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

The contraction strength of muscles is regulated by motor neurons, which modulate the frequency of action potentials dispatched to the motor units based on the body's requirements. This process of varying the muscle stimulation frequency allows muscles to contract with a force that is precisely tailored to the needs of the moment, whether lifting a feather or a heavy box.
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...

Motor Unit Stimulation

Motor Unit Stimulation

When the neuron of a motor unit fires an action potential, it triggers a series of events, leading to a twitch contraction in the muscle fibers. The process of excitation-contraction coupling is crucial in relaying the action potential to the muscle fibers.
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

MolluscaGenes: A Transcriptomic Database for the Mollusca.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Aerobic exercise as a non-pharmacological approach to restless legs syndrome: Evidence from an ID-induced model.

Life sciences·2026

Same author

Consensus roadmap on periodic leg movements during sleep: outcomes of the international PLMS taskforce.

Sleep·2026

Same author

Membrane potential dynamics of peripheral cold-sensitive neurons in <i>Drosophila</i> larvae.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Regulatory considerations for developing phage therapy medicinal products for the treatment of antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections.

Frontiers in pharmacology·2026

Same author

Sleep Related Movement Disorders: What's New and Changing Clinical Practice.

Journal of sleep research·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Real-Time Proxy-Control of Re-Parameterized Peripheral Signals using a Close-Loop Interface

Real-Time Proxy-Control of Re-Parameterized Peripheral Signals using a Close-Loop Interface

Published on: May 8, 2021

Altering cAMP levels within a central pattern generator modifies or disrupts rhythmic motor output.

Stefan Clemens¹, Robert Calin-Jageman, Akira Sakurai

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine/Georgia Institute of Technology, 313 Ferst Street, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. stefan.clemens@emory.edu

Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology

|November 1, 2007

Summary

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) dynamically modulates neural control of rhythmic movements. Manipulating cAMP levels in Tritonia diomedea affected swim motor patterns, suggesting its role in shaping central pattern generator output.

More Related Videos

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Published on: July 24, 2019

Spinal Cord Electrophysiology II: Extracellular Suction Electrode Fabrication

Spinal Cord Electrophysiology II: Extracellular Suction Electrode Fabrication

Published on: February 20, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Real-Time Proxy-Control of Re-Parameterized Peripheral Signals using a Close-Loop Interface

Real-Time Proxy-Control of Re-Parameterized Peripheral Signals using a Close-Loop Interface

Published on: May 8, 2021

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Published on: July 24, 2019

Spinal Cord Electrophysiology II: Extracellular Suction Electrode Fabrication

Spinal Cord Electrophysiology II: Extracellular Suction Electrode Fabrication

Published on: February 20, 2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Molecular Biology
Marine Biology

Background:

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) acts as a crucial second messenger in cellular signaling pathways.
cAMP is known to play a role in the neuromodulation of rhythmic motor patterns in various organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of cAMP in the generation and modulation of swim motor patterns in the marine mollusc, Tritonia diomedea.
To determine how manipulating intracellular cAMP levels affects the central pattern generator (CPG) responsible for swimming.

Main Methods:

Pharmacological inhibition of adenylyl cyclase (AC) using 9-cyclopentyladenine (9-CPA).
Pharmacological inhibition of phosphodiesterase using 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX).
Application of dibutyryl-cAMP (dB-cAMP) and iontophoresis of cAMP into the C2 neuron.

Main Results:

Inhibition of AC (9-CPA) slowed or abolished the swim motor pattern.
Inhibition of phosphodiesterase (IBMX) or application of dB-cAMP disrupted the swim motor pattern.
Iontophoresis of cAMP into C2 and photolysis of caged cAMP in C2 inhibited bursting, indicating a direct role of cAMP in CPG neuron activity.

Conclusions:

cAMP levels are critical for the dynamic modulation of swim motor pattern generation in Tritonia.
cAMP likely shapes the output of the CPG on a cycle-by-cycle basis, influencing the rhythmic motor activity.