Variation in Throughput from Single Motor Cortex Neurons to Muscles

描述(由申请人提供)：本项目的长期目标是了解影响初级运动皮质中单个神经元到驱动肌肉的运动神经元的吞吐量的因素。初级运动皮质通过其皮质脊髓投射，在控制身体运动方面起着主要作用。这种控制在很大程度上是通过从单个运动皮质神经元到脊髓运动神经元池的直接连接实现的。这些连接的吞吐量可以通过肌肉记录的整流肌电信号活动的尖峰触发平均值来评估。通过记录多个运动皮质神经元和多个肌肉同时在自然和新的自愿运动行为中的活动，并分析它们的尖峰触发的平均效应，本申请建议确定在自愿行为期间神经元放电率和正在进行的肌电活动的变化是否会导致从神经元到肌肉的吞吐幅度的系统性变化。由于运动皮质神经元的放电率与其靶肌肉的肌电活动通常是相关的，因此也将研究M1神经元与其靶肌肉的肌电活动的分离程度。提高对运动皮质如何控制肌肉移动身体的了解，将改善中风、肌萎缩侧索硬化症、多发性硬化症、创伤性脑或脊髓损伤和脑瘫等多种神经系统疾病患者的诊断、治疗和康复，使其功能恢复。公共卫生相关性：本项目的长期目标是了解影响从大脑初级运动皮质中的单个神经元到脊髓中驱动肌肉的运动神经元组的吞吐量的因素。从单个运动皮质神经元到脊髓运动神经元群的连接在允许大脑控制身体运动方面发挥着重要作用。提高对运动皮质神经元如何控制肌肉移动身体的了解，将有助于改善诊断、治疗和康复，使受多种神经系统疾病影响的患者恢复功能，这些疾病包括中风、肌萎缩侧索硬化症、多发性硬化症、创伤性脑或脊髓损伤和脑瘫。

Description (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of the present project is to understand factors that influence throughput from single neurons in the primary motor cortex to the motoneurons that drive muscles. The primary motor cortex, through its corticospinal projection, plays a major role in controlling movements of the body. Much of this control is achieved via direct connections from single motor cortex neurons to pools of spinal motoneurons. The throughput of these connections can be assessed in spike-triggered averages of rectified electromyographic activity recorded from muscles. By recording the activity of multiple motor cortex neurons and multiple muscles simultaneously during both natural and novel voluntary motor behaviors, and analyzing their spike-triggered average effects, the present application proposes to determine whether changes in neuron firing rate and ongoing electromyographic activity during voluntary behaviors produce systematic variation in the amplitude of throughput from the neuron to the muscle. Because the firing rate of motor cortex neurons and the electromyographic activity of their target muscles often are correlated, the extent to which M1 neurons can be dissociated from that of their target muscles also will be investigated. Improved understanding of how the motor cortex controls muscles to move the body will lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation to functional recovery for patients affected by numerous neurological diseases including stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain or spinal cord injury and cerebral palsy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The long-term goal of the present project is to understand factors that influence the throughput from single neurons in the brain's primary motor cortex to the groups of motor neurons in the spinal cord that drive muscles. The connections from single motor cortex neurons to groups of spinal motor neurons play a major role in allowing the brain to control movement of the body. Improved understanding of how motor cortex neurons control muscles to move the body will lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation toward functional recovery for patients affected by numerous neurological diseases including stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy.