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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Spinal Cord Lateral Hemisection and Asymmetric Behavioral Assessments in Adult Rats

Spinal Cord Lateral Hemisection and Asymmetric Behavioral Assessments in Adult Rats

Published on: March 24, 2020

The hemisegmental locomotor network revisited.

L Cangiano¹, R H Hill, S Grillner

¹Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 31, I-56123 Pisa, Italy.

|March 22, 2012

Summary

The lamprey spinal cord

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Comparative Biology
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Locomotion in vertebrates relies on neural networks within the spinal cord.
The lamprey, a primitive vertebrate, is a key model for studying axial locomotion.
Previous studies suggested spinal hemisegments can generate locomotor rhythms independently.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the intrinsic capabilities of the lamprey spinal cord's locomotor network.
To determine if rhythmic bursting is an inherent property of hemisegmental networks or a result of plasticity after surgical separation.
To identify evolutionarily conserved features of vertebrate locomotor control.

Main Methods:

Electrically stimulating hemisected lamprey spinal cords immediately after surgery.

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Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Spinal Cord Lateral Hemisection and Asymmetric Behavioral Assessments in Adult Rats

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Thoracic Spinal Cord Hemisection Surgery and Open-Field Locomotor Assessment in the Rat

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Recording motor output from activated hemicords.

Stimulating unilateral spinal networks in intact lamprey spinal cords with asymmetrical inputs.

Main Results:

Hemisected lamprey spinal cords exhibited rhythmic bursting within minutes of hemisection.
This bursting occurred in a frequency range consistent with the central pattern generator for swimming.
Unilateral networks in intact spinal cords also produced rhythmic output when asymmetrically stimulated.

Conclusions:

The lamprey spinal cord hemicord possesses an intrinsic capability to generate the fundamental rhythmic drive for locomotion.
These findings support the hypothesis of evolutionarily conserved, recurrent excitatory networks in vertebrate locomotor control.
The study validates the lamprey as a model for understanding the basic neural mechanisms of locomotion.