RPG: Neuromodulation in an Invertebrate Neuromotor System: Comparative and Evolutionary Aspects of the Crayfish Stomatogastric Nervous System

摘要PI: Tierney， Ann建议编号：IBN-9707325所有的动物都有节奏的运动，如行走、咀嚼和呼吸。这些运动是由中枢神经系统内被称为中枢模式发生器（cpg）的细胞回路产生的。神经生物学家已经研究cpg几十年了，并且对这些相对有限的回路如何控制运动有了很多了解。最近的研究表明，即使是简单的电路也非常灵活，可以编程一系列相关的动作。在细胞水平上，这种灵活性是由神经调节剂产生的，内源性化合物改变了单个CPG细胞的活性，从而改变了回路的输出。该项目描述了神经调节输入（包括血清素、多巴胺和两种多肽）的分布，并研究了这些化合物如何改变两种cpg产生的运动程序。将研究7个物种（4个来自同一属，3个来自不同属），以确定调节剂的类型、位置或功能如何随着物种和一般进化而变化。在一组密切相关的物种中对运动模式调制进行系统比较，旨在促进神经运动系统进化的知识和对简单节奏运动协调的理解。像这里研究的这些简单系统，是希望发现的潜在机制可以应用于更复杂的系统，比如用于脊椎动物运动控制的系统，包括人类行走的控制。

Lay Abstract PI: Tierney, Ann Proposal Number: IBN-9707325 All animals perform rhythmic movements, such as walking, chewing and breathing. These movements are produced within the central nervous system by circuits of cells called central pattern generators (CPGs). Neurobiologists have studied CPGs for several decades and have learned a great deal about how these relatively limited circuits program movements. Recent research has shown that even simple circuits are very flexible and can program a wide array of related movements. On a cellular level, this flexibility is produced by neuromodulators, endogenous compounds that alter the activity of individual CPG cells, and consequently alter the output of the circuit. This project describes the distribution of neuromodulatory inputs (including serotonin, dopamine, and two peptides) and investigates how these compounds alter the motor program produced by the two CPGs. Seven species (four from a single genus and three from different genera) will be studied to determine how modulator type, location, or function might change as species and general evolve. This systematic comparison of motor pattern modulation in a set of closely related species is designed to contribute to knowledge of neuromotor system evolution and to the understanding of the coordination of simple rhythmic movements. Simple systems like the ones investigated here are studied in the hope that the underlying mechanisms discovered can be applied to more complicated systems, such as those used in vertebrate locomotor control, including the control of walking in humans.