Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, CHUL-Neurosciences, 2705 boul. Laurier, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada.
Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, CHUL-Neurosciences, 2705 boul. Laurier, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada.
Curr Biol. 2018 Mar 19;28(6):884-901.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.007. Epub 2018 Mar 8.
The mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) has been initially identified as a supraspinal center capable of initiating and modulating locomotion. Whereas its functional contribution to locomotion has been widely documented throughout the phylogeny from the lamprey to humans, there is still debate about its exact organization. Combining kinematic and electrophysiological recordings in mouse genetics, our study reveals that glutamatergic neurons of the cuneiform nucleus initiate locomotion and induce running gaits, whereas glutamatergic and cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine nucleus modulate locomotor pattern and rhythm, contributing to slow-walking gaits. By initiating, modulating, and accelerating locomotion, our study identifies and characterizes distinct neuronal populations of this functional region important to locomotor command.
中脑运动区（MLR）最初被确定为一个能够发起和调节运动的脊髓上中枢。尽管它对运动的功能贡献在从七鳃鳗到人类的整个进化过程中都有广泛的记录，但关于其确切的组织仍然存在争议。通过在小鼠遗传学中结合运动学和电生理学记录，我们的研究表明，楔状核中的谷氨酸能神经元发起运动并诱导跑步步态，而脑桥被盖核中的谷氨酸能和胆碱能神经元调节运动模式和节奏，有助于慢走步态。通过发起、调节和加速运动，我们的研究确定并描述了这个功能区域中对运动指令很重要的不同神经元群体。
