Guertin Pierre A
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Laval University Quebec City, QC, Canada ; Spinal Cord Injury and Functional Recovery Laboratory, Laval University Medical Center (CHU de Quebec) Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2014 May 30;8:272. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00272. eCollection 2014.
Ambulation or walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion. In terrestrial animals, it may be defined as a series of rhythmic and bilaterally coordinated movement of the limbs which creates a forward movement of the body. This applies regardless of the number of limbs-from arthropods with six or more limbs to bipedal primates. These fundamental similarities among species may explain why comparable neural systems and cellular properties have been found, thus far, to control in similar ways locomotor rhythm generation in most animal models. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of the known structural and functional features associated with central nervous system (CNS) networks that are involved in the control of ambulation and other stereotyped motor patterns-specifically Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) that produce basic rhythmic patterned outputs for locomotion, micturition, ejaculation, and defecation. Although there is compelling evidence of their existence in humans, CPGs have been most studied in reduced models including in vitro isolated preparations, genetically-engineered mice and spinal cord-transected animals. Compared with other structures of the CNS, the spinal cord is generally considered as being well-preserved phylogenetically. As such, most animal models of spinal cord-injured (SCI) should be considered as valuable tools for the development of novel pharmacological strategies aimed at modulating spinal activity and restoring corresponding functions in chronic SCI patients.
行走是主要的运动步态之一。在陆生动物中，它可被定义为一系列有节奏且双侧协调的肢体运动，从而使身体向前移动。这适用于任何肢体数量的动物——从具有六条或更多肢体的节肢动物到双足灵长类动物。物种间这些基本的相似性或许可以解释，为何迄今为止在大多数动物模型中，已发现类似的神经系统和细胞特性以相似的方式控制运动节律的产生。本文旨在全面综述与中枢神经系统（CNS）网络相关的已知结构和功能特征，这些网络参与控制行走及其他刻板运动模式，特别是中枢模式发生器（CPG），它能为行走、排尿、射精和排便产生基本的有节奏的模式化输出。尽管有令人信服的证据表明CPG在人类中存在，但对其研究最多的是简化模型，包括体外分离制剂、基因工程小鼠和脊髓横断动物。与中枢神经系统的其他结构相比，脊髓在系统发育上通常被认为保存得较好。因此，大多数脊髓损伤（SCI）动物模型应被视为有价值的工具，用于开发旨在调节脊髓活动并恢复慢性SCI患者相应功能的新型药理学策略。
