Role of sensory feedback during slope walking

描述(由申请人提供)：许多由运动能力丧失引起的神经系统疾病与一种或多种感觉通路的病理有关：本体感觉、前庭或视觉。这项拟议研究的总体目标是评估感觉反馈对启动适合在倾斜表面上行走的肌肉活动模式的贡献。通过研究去大脑行走猫的肌电图，我们可以评估来自本体感觉系统和前庭系统的感觉反馈如何影响地形转换。首先，我们将研究一个完整的动物在上坡和下坡行走过程中头部俯仰和后肢方向的变化，以便在未来的实验中复制地面姿势。接下来，我们将在去大脑的步行准备过程中操纵跑步机的坡度和头距。最后，我们将拆解前庭系统，以评估这一个体感觉系统在启动运动程序以响应环境表面变化方面的重要性。我们的初步数据表明，颈部本体感受器和前庭系统在步行过程中启动适当的肌肉活动模式方面起着关键作用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many neurological diseases resulting from the loss of locomotor capacity are associated with pathologies of one or a combination of sensory pathways; proprioceptive, vestibular, or visual. The overall objective of the proposed research is to assess the contribution of sensory feedback for the initiation of muscular activity patterns appropriate to walking on sloped surfaces. By studying the electromyography of decerebrate walking cats, we can evaluate how sensory feedback from the proprioceptive system and the vestibular system influence terrain transitions. Initially, we will examine how head pitch and hindlimb orientation of an intact animal change during uphill and downhill walking in order to duplicate overground posture in future experiments. Next, we will manipulate treadmill slope and head pitch during a decerebrate walking preparation. Lastly, we will dismantle the vestibular system to evaluate the importance of this individual sensory system on the initiation of motor programs in response to changes in the environmental surface. Our preliminary data suggest that the neck proprioceptors and the vestibular system play a key role in the initiation of appropriate muscular activity patterns during walking.