Neuromuscular Basis of Locomotor Behaviors in Lower Vertebrates

我们目前对低等脊椎动物运动行为的神经肌肉基础缺乏广泛的比较了解。值得注意的是，以前没有研究定量测量火蜥蜴的轴肌活动，火蜥蜴是现存的最原始的四足脊椎动物。对鱼类和火蜥蜴运动行为的拟议研究将同时检查轴向运动和肌肉活动的基本模式(运动模式)。通过比较不同形状、不同身体节段的类群以及有肢体和无肢体动物的分类群，将评估形态对运动模式的影响。通过改变粘度和确定陆上和水上运动的运动模式，将确定环境对运动模式的影响。通过比较不同速度、种类和环境条件下的轴向运动模式，可以检验神经控制在运动行为中的可塑性。

We presently lack a broad comparative understanding of the neuromuscular basis of lower vertebrate locomotor behavior. Notably, no previous study has quantitatively measured axial muscle activity in salamanders which are the most primitive extant tetrapodal vertebrates. The proposed research on fish and salamander locomotor behavior will simultaneously examine axial movements and the underlying patterns of muscle activity (the motor pattern). By comparing taxa with different shapes, numbers of body segments and limbed versus limbless animals, the influence of morphology on motor pattern will be assessed. By altering viscosity and determining the motor pattern for terrestrial and aquatic locomotion, the influence of the environment on the motor pattern will be determined. Comparisons of axial motor patterns over a wide range of speeds, taxa, and environmental conditions will allow examination of the plasticity of neural control in locomotor behaviors.