Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA; email:
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2023 Jul 10;46:79-99. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-083122-025325. Epub 2023 Feb 28.
The spinal cord is home to the intrinsic networks for locomotion. An animal in which the spinal cord has been fully severed from the brain can still produce rhythmic, patterned locomotor movements as long as some excitatory drive is provided, such as physical, pharmacological, or electrical stimuli. Yet it remains a challenge to define the underlying circuitry that produces these movements because the spinal cord contains a wide variety of neuron classes whose patterns of interconnectivity are still poorly understood. Computational models of locomotion accordingly rely on untested assumptions about spinal neuron network element identity and connectivity. In this review, we consider the classes of spinal neurons, their interconnectivity, and the significance of their circuit connections along the long axis of the spinal cord. We suggest several lines of analysis to move toward a definitive understanding of the spinal network.
脊髓是运动内在网络的所在地。只要提供一些兴奋性驱动,例如物理、药理学或电刺激,完全切断脊髓与大脑的联系的动物仍然可以产生有节奏、有模式的运动。然而,要定义产生这些运动的基础电路仍然是一个挑战,因为脊髓中包含多种神经元类型,其相互连接的模式仍未得到很好的理解。运动的计算模型因此依赖于关于脊髓神经元网络元素身份和连接性的未经测试的假设。在这篇综述中,我们考虑了脊髓神经元的类别、它们的相互连接以及它们在脊髓长轴上的电路连接的意义。我们提出了几种分析方法,以朝着明确理解脊髓网络的方向前进。