Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Marion Murray Spinal Cord Research Center, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 6;22(5):2667. doi: 10.3390/ijms22052667.
The ability to sense and move within an environment are complex functions necessary for the survival of nearly all species. The spinal cord is both the initial entry site for peripheral information and the final output site for motor response, placing spinal circuits as paramount in mediating sensory responses and coordinating movement. This is partly accomplished through the activation of complex spinal microcircuits that gate afferent signals to filter extraneous stimuli from various sensory modalities and determine which signals are transmitted to higher order structures in the CNS and to spinal motor pathways. A mechanistic understanding of how inhibitory interneurons are organized and employed within the spinal cord will provide potential access points for therapeutics targeting inhibitory deficits underlying various pathologies including sensory and movement disorders. Recent studies using transgenic manipulations, neurochemical profiling, and single-cell transcriptomics have identified distinct populations of inhibitory interneurons which express an array of genetic and/or neurochemical markers that constitute functional microcircuits. In this review, we provide an overview of identified neural components that make up inhibitory microcircuits within the dorsal and ventral spinal cord and highlight the importance of inhibitory control of sensorimotor pathways at the spinal level.
感知和在环境中移动的能力是几乎所有物种生存所必需的复杂功能。脊髓既是外周信息的初始进入部位，也是运动反应的最终输出部位，因此脊髓回路在调节感觉反应和协调运动方面至关重要。这在一定程度上是通过激活复杂的脊髓微循环来实现的，这些微循环可以控制传入信号，滤除来自各种感觉模态的无关刺激，并确定哪些信号被传递到中枢神经系统的高级结构和脊髓运动通路。对脊髓内抑制性中间神经元如何组织和利用的机制理解将为治疗各种病理提供潜在的治疗靶点，包括感觉和运动障碍。最近的研究使用转基因操作、神经化学分析和单细胞转录组学，已经确定了不同的抑制性中间神经元群体，它们表达一系列遗传和/或神经化学标志物，构成功能性微电路。在这篇综述中，我们概述了构成背侧和腹侧脊髓内抑制性微电路的已识别神经成分，并强调了脊髓水平上感觉运动通路的抑制性控制的重要性。
