V3 Spinal Cord Neurons Participate in Driving Locomotion in Vertebrates

描述(申请人提供)：脊椎动物脊髓包含一个中央模式发生器(CPG)，即使在与大脑隔离的情况下，也能够产生协调的运动(例如，行走、游泳、飞行)。然而，产生运动节律的神经元群是未知的。识别产生运动的神经群将消除运动调制、退变和再生研究中的一个主要障碍。这项应用的目的是描述一种有希望的脊髓神经元群体：V3中间神经元。V3神经元满足运动节律产生的两个重要标准：第一，它们位于脊髓腹侧内侧，第二，它们是谷氨酸能的。我们假设V3神经元是运动性CPG的核心组成部分。为了验证这一假设，我们提出了三个目标。首先，我们将确定虚构运动中V3神经元的活动和募集模式。接下来，我们将确定V3神经元是否具有运动产生膜的特性。最后，我们将确定V3神经元是否是正常运动所必需的。这三个目标的完成将使我们更好地了解v3神经元在运动中的作用以及脊椎动物CPG的整体结构。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The vertebrate spinal cord contains a central pattern generator (CPG) capable of producing coordinated locomotion (e.g., walking, swimming, flying), even in isolation from the brain. However, the neuronal populations that generate the locomotor rhythm are unknown. Identifying the neural populations that generate locomotion would remove a major barrier in the study of the modulation, degeneration and regeneration of locomotion. The objective of this application is to characterize one promising population of spinal neurons: the V3 interneurons. The V3 neurons satisfy two important criteria for locomotor rhythm generation: first, they are located in the ventral medial spinal cord and, second, they are glutamatergic. We hypothesize that V3 neurons are core components of the locomotor CPG. In order to test this hypothesis, we propose three aims. First, we will determine the activity and recruitment patterns of V3 neurons during fictive locomotion. Next, we will determine if V3 neurons have locomotion generating membrane properties. Finally, we will determine if the V3 neurons are necessary for normal locomotion. The completion of these three aims will give us a better understanding of the role of the v3 neurons in locomotion and the overall structure of the vertebrate CPG.