Touching on locomotion: Olise Oputa Diversity Supplement_Nov 15

项目摘要/摘要 皮肤中的触觉感受器编码振动、凹陷和滑动等感觉方式，对适应至关重要。 我们在应对环境变化时的走路方式。然而，触摸的脊髓整合 塑造运动活动的途径仍然知之甚少。要解决关键的概念和 在这一领域的技术挑战，我们已经建立了一个广泛的小鼠遗传工具箱，以可视化，量化和 操控触觉特定的脊髓回路。此外，我们将这些强大的基因工具与马达相结合 利用高速摄像机、计算机视觉和机器学习来量化体感的分析 行为具有前所未有的敏感度。结合这些技术，我们确定了一种新的触摸特定 运动前网络对感觉运动功能至关重要。我们的总体假设是，这个网络代表着 整合触觉和本体感觉信息以影响肌肉群特定模式的关键节点 这既有利于运动时的矫正动作，也有利于自然主义行为期间的马达“切换”。 我们询问这个新颖的网络以解决基本问题，这些问题的答案将使 理解触觉路径如何汇聚成动作。在目标1和目标2中，我们将基因 方法、高分辨率突触分析、切片电生理学和活体肌肉记录来测试 假设这个网络整合了多模式感觉信息来影响特定的肌肉反应 感官输入。目标3结合关节和肌肉活动记录来测试这个网络的假设 塑造皮肤反应，以促进运动过程中的矫正运动。我们延长了这些 通过实施计算机视觉和机器学习来解析自然行为的行为研究 测试触摸特定的运动前网络如何塑造的假设 微运动被拼凑成复杂的运动行为。Oputa先生的研究将进一步 在目标3中概述了通过结合肌电(EMG)记录和深度成像 通过测试特定的假设，即不同的运动前网络控制唯一的 和行为学上相关的运动特征。Oputa先生的职业发展计划修订为 来自Marguerite Matthews博士的意见，他为加强他的神经科学提供了批判性的见解 培养和发展成为未来的内科科学家。总而言之，通过了解 运动组织(即脊髓)，他的研究将导致新的疗法，以提高质量 遭受脊髓研究之苦的人的生活。因此，这项研究为新的方式奠定了关键的基础 关于调制脊髓回路以改善运动功能的思考。

Project Summary/Abstract Touch receptors in skin encoding sensory modalities like vibration, indentation, and slip, are critical for adapting the way we walk in response to changes in our environment. However, the spinal cord integration of touch pathways to sculpt motor activity remains profoundly poorly understood. To address key conceptual and technical challenges in this field, we have built an extensive mouse genetic toolbox to visualize, quantify and manipulate touch-specific spinal cord circuits. In addition, we merge these powerful genetic tools with motor assays involving high-speed cameras, computer vision, and machine learning to quantify somatosensory behavior with unprecedented sensitivity. Combining these technologies, we identified a novel touch-specific premotor network essential for sensorimotor function. Our overall hypothesis is that this network represents a critical node for integrating touch and proprioceptive information to influence specific patterns of muscle groups that facilitate both corrective movements during locomotion and motor ‘switching’ during naturalistic behaviors. We interrogate this novel network to address fundamental questions whose answers will enable an understanding of how touch pathways converge to shape movement. In Aims 1 and 2, we combine genetic approaches, high-resolution synaptic analysis, slice electrophysiology, and in-vivo muscle recordings to test the hypothesis that this network integrates multimodal sensory information to influence specific muscle responses to sensory input. Aim 3 combines joint and muscle activity recordings to test the hypothesis that this network shapes cutaneous responses to facilitate corrective movements during locomotion. We extend these behavioral studies by implementing computer vision and machine learning to parse naturalistic behaviors into sub-second movements to test the hypothesis that touch-specific premotor networks sculpt how micro-movements are pieced together into complex motor behaviors. Mr. Oputa’s research will further the efforts outlined in Aim 3 by combining electromyography (EMG) recordings with depth imaging of freely moving mice by testing the specific hypothesis that distinct premotor networks control unique and ethologically relevant movement features. Mr. Oputa’s career development plan was revised with input from Dr. Marguerite Matthews, who provided critical insights into strengthening his neuroscience training and development as a future physician-scientist. In sum, by understanding the final path for movement organization (i.e., the spinal cord), his research will lead to new therapies to improve the quality of life of people suffering from spinal cord research. Thus, this research lays the critical foundation for novel ways of thinking about modulating spinal circuits for improving motor function.