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Spinal Cord Electrophysiology
Published on: January 18, 2010
Modules in the brain stem and spinal cord underlying motor behaviors
Jinsook Roh1, Vincent C K Cheung, Emilio Bizzi
1McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. j-roh@northwestern.edu
Journal of Neurophysiology
|June 10, 2011
Summary
The brain stem and spinal cord are crucial for generating muscle synergies in frog movements. Most muscle synergies for natural behaviors persist after brain stem or medulla transection, indicating their sufficiency for expression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Comparative Physiology
Background:
- Coordinated movements are thought to arise from muscle synergies controlled by the central nervous system (CNS).
- The specific CNS regions responsible for expressing these muscle synergies are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the involvement of the brain stem and spinal cord in expressing muscle synergies for natural frog movements.
- To determine if these lower CNS regions are sufficient for generating motor behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Electromyographic (EMG) data were collected from frog leg muscles.
- Muscle synergies were analyzed before and after transection at different CNS levels: rostral midbrain, rostral medulla, and spinal-medullary junction.
- The repertoire of movements (jumping, swimming, kicking, stepping) was assessed in each preparation.
Main Results:
- Brain stem preparations retained a wide range of movements, while medullary preparations showed a partial repertoire.
- Almost all muscle synergies for natural movements persisted after rostral midbrain or medullary transection but not spinal-medullary transection.
- Two types of synergies were identified: shared between states and state-specific.
Conclusions:
- The medulla and spinal cord appear sufficient for expressing most muscle synergies observed in frog behaviors.
- Motor behaviors may be constructed from muscle synergies organized within the brain stem and spinal cord.
- These synergies are likely activated by descending commands from supraspinal areas.
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