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

Indirect Motor Pathways

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...

Root Loci for Positive-Feedback Systems

Root Loci for Positive-Feedback Systems

The Hartley oscillator is a positive feedback system that sustains oscillations by feeding the output back to the input in phase, thereby reinforcing the signal. Positive feedback systems can be viewed as negative feedback systems with inverted feedback signals. In these systems, the root locus encompasses all points on the s-plane where the angle of the system transfer function equals 360 degrees.
The construction rules for the root locus in positive feedback systems are similar to those in...

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Unlocking the Power of Data Harmonization in Environmental Health Sciences: A Comprehensive Exploration of Significance, Use Cases, and Recommendations for Standardization Efforts.

Environmental health perspectives·2026

Same author

Visual attention-related processes in desert locusts' collective-motion-related decision-making.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Tactile Sensing During Backward Locomotion in the Mole Cricket.

Insects·2026

Same author

Biologically Constrained Insect Models Enable Realistic Simulations and Improve Biomechanical Predictions of Locomotion.

Soft robotics·2026

Same author

Detection of Solid-Phase Explosives Using an Electroantennogram-Based Biohybrid Sensor with Active Sniffing.

Analytical chemistry·2026

Same author

Six-legged-bound: a newly described insect gait.

Royal Society open science·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Published on: April 13, 2011

Proprioceptive feedback reinforces centrally generated stepping patterns in the cockroach.

Einat Fuchs¹, Philip Holmes, Izhak David

¹Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. einat@princeton.edu

The Journal of Experimental Biology

|May 11, 2012

Summary

Sensory feedback from cockroach legs influences central motor patterns for locomotion. Proprioceptive input modifies rhythmic coordination, with front legs providing precise, stabilizing signals.

More Related Videos

Neural Circuit Recording from an Intact Cockroach Nervous System

Neural Circuit Recording from an Intact Cockroach Nervous System

Published on: November 4, 2013

Extracellular Wire Tetrode Recording in Brain of Freely Walking Insects

Extracellular Wire Tetrode Recording in Brain of Freely Walking Insects

Published on: April 1, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Published on: April 13, 2011

Neural Circuit Recording from an Intact Cockroach Nervous System

Neural Circuit Recording from an Intact Cockroach Nervous System

Published on: November 4, 2013

Extracellular Wire Tetrode Recording in Brain of Freely Walking Insects

Extracellular Wire Tetrode Recording in Brain of Freely Walking Insects

Published on: April 1, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Animal Locomotion
Biomechanics

Background:

Understanding how animals coordinate body segments for locomotion is vital.
Sensory information is crucial for timing leg movements in legged locomotion, especially on varied terrain.
Previous research showed cockroaches can generate coordinated leg movements centrally without sensory feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the role of movement-related sensory inputs in modifying centrally generated motor patterns for locomotion.
To investigate how proprioceptive feedback from leg movements affects inter-leg coordination in cockroaches.

Main Methods:

Studied the effects of spontaneous and imposed movements (transient and periodic) of a single leg.
Analyzed changes in phase relationships among segmental oscillators of other legs in response to sensory feedback.

Main Results:

Proprioceptive feedback significantly modifies phase relationships among leg oscillators, depending on movement properties.
Feedback from front legs is less intense but more precise than from hind legs.
Sensory input strengthens the inherent rhythmic pattern and modulates local perturbations.

Conclusions:

Movement-related sensory inputs play a significant role in modulating centrally generated locomotor patterns.
Cockroach locomotion relies on a combination of central pattern generation and sensory modulation for stability and adaptability.
Front leg feedback offers precise timing information, enhancing overall locomotor stability.