Unusual neuromodulatory control of spinal cord function

酪胺、章鱼胺和色胺属于内源性胺家族，被称为微量胺（TAs），它们在结构和代谢方面与“经典”神经递质血清素、多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素相似。虽然最近发现了TAs的受体，但它们的生理相关性仍然难以捉摸。该项目旨在揭示这些物质通过作用于负责运动的脊髓回路来控制腿部运动。TAs直接应用于脊髓以表征其对神经回路功能的调节。此外，肢体肌肉的电记录与基于视频的肢体运动分析相结合，可以定量研究基于运动周期的活动模式，详细说明ta对运动表现的影响。这些进展将刺激研究，影响我们对脊髓是如何被“设计”来控制运动的理解。总的来说，这个项目建立了突破性的科学和方法论，结合了来自乔治亚理工学院的代表性不足的工程学生的跨学科指导和埃默里大学的生物科学培训，并通过参加会议扩大了他们的活动。

Tyramine, octopamine, and tryptamine belong to a family of endogenous amines called trace amines (TAs) that have structural and metabolic similarities to the 'classical' neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and nor-epinephrine. While receptors for TAs were recently identified, their physiological relevance remains elusive. This project seeks to reveal that these substances control leg movements by acting on the spinal cord circuits responsible for locomotion. TAs are applied directly to the spinal cord to characterize their modulation of neural circuit function. In addition, electrical recordings from limb muscles are coupled with video-based analyses of limb movements to allow quantitative study of locomotor cycle-based activity patterns, detailing the effects of TAs on motor performance. The advances made will spur investigations that impact our understanding of how the spinal cord is 'engineered' to control locomotion. Overall, this project establishes ground-breaking science and methodology that incorporates cross-disciplinary mentoring of underrepresented engineering students from the Georgia Institute of Technology with training in the biological sciences at Emory, and a broadening of their activities through participation in conferences.