Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, 3-020D Katz Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jan 30;22(3):1394. doi: 10.3390/ijms22031394.
In order for locomotion to occur, a complex pattern of muscle activation is required. For more than a century, it has been known that the timing and pattern of stepping movements in mammals are generated by neural networks known as central pattern generators (CPGs), which comprise multiple interneuron cell types located entirely within the spinal cord. A genetic approach has recently been successful in identifying several populations of spinal neurons that make up this neural network, as well as the specific role they play during stepping. In spite of this progress, the identity of the neurons responsible for generating the locomotor rhythm and the manner in which they are interconnected have yet to be deciphered. In this review, we summarize key features considered to be expressed by locomotor rhythm-generating neurons and describe the different genetically defined classes of interneurons which have been proposed to be involved.
为了实现运动，需要一种复杂的肌肉激活模式。一个多世纪以来，人们已经知道哺乳动物的踏步运动的时间和模式是由被称为中枢模式发生器（CPG）的神经网络产生的，CPG 由位于脊髓内的多个中间神经元细胞类型组成。最近，一种遗传方法成功地确定了构成这个神经网络的几个脊髓神经元群体，以及它们在踏步运动中的特定作用。尽管取得了这一进展，但产生运动节律的神经元的身份以及它们相互连接的方式仍有待破译。在这篇综述中，我们总结了被认为是产生运动节律的神经元所表达的关键特征，并描述了被提出参与其中的不同遗传定义的中间神经元类群。
