HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 90/5/3161    most recent 00555.2003v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (10) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zelenin, P. V. Articles by Deliagina, T. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zelenin, P. V. Articles by Deliagina, T. G.

Comparison of the Motor Effects of Individual Vestibulo- and Reticulospinal Neurons on Dorsal and Ventral Myotomes in Lamprey

The Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden

Submitted 9 June 2003; accepted in final form 11 August 2003

In the lamprey (a lower vertebrate), motor commands from the brain to the spinal cord are transmitted through the reticulospinal (RS) and vestibulospinal (VS) pathways. The axons of larger RS neurons reach the most caudal of approximately 100 spinal segments, whereas the VS pathway does not descend below the 15th segment. This study was carried out to compare functional projections of RS and VS neurons in the rostral spinal segments that the neurons innervate together. To reveal these projections, individual RS or VS neurons were stimulated, and the responses of different groups of spinal motoneurons were recorded in ventral root branches to dorsal and ventral parts of myotomes. The responses were detected using a spike-triggered averaging technique on the background of ongoing motoneuronal activity. Individual RS and VS neurons exerted uniform effects on segmental motor output within this rostral part of the spinal cord. The effects of VS neurons on different groups of motoneurons were weaker and less diverse than those of RS neurons. The results indicate that VS neurons are able to elicit a flexion of the rostral part of the body and to turn the head in different planes without affecting more caudal parts. By contrast, larger RS neurons can elicit head movement only together with movement of a considerable part of the body and thus seem to be responsible for formation of gross motor synergies.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. J. Norris, A. L. Weaver, A. Wenning, P. S. Garcia, and R. L. Calabrese A Central Pattern Generator Producing Alternative Outputs: Pattern, Strength, and Dynamics of Premotor Synaptic Input to Leech Heart Motor Neurons J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2007; 98(5): 2992 - 3005. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. V. Zelenin, G. N. Orlovsky, and T. G. Deliagina Sensory-Motor Transformation by Individual Command Neurons J. Neurosci., January 31, 2007; 27(5): 1024 - 1032. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Karayannidou, P. V. Zelenin, G. N. Orlovsky, and T. G. Deliagina Responses of Reticulospinal Neurons in the Lamprey to Lateral Turns J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2007; 97(1): 512 - 521. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. F. Einum and J. T. Buchanan Spinobulbar Neurons in Lamprey: Cellular Properties and Synaptic Interactions J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2006; 96(4): 2042 - 2055. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. G. Deliagina, G. N. Orlovsky, P. V. Zelenin, and I. N. Beloozerova Neural Bases of Postural Control Physiology, June 1, 2006; 21(3): 216 - 225. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. F. Einum and J. T. Buchanan Membrane Potential Oscillations in Reticulospinal and Spinobulbar Neurons During Locomotor Activity J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2005; 94(1): 273 - 281. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. L. Pavlova, L. B. Popova, G. N. Orlovsky, and T. G. Deliagina Vestibular compensation in lampreys: restoration of symmetry in reticulospinal commands J. Exp. Biol., December 15, 2004; 207(26): 4595 - 4603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]