Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Nat Neurosci. 2024 Apr;27(4):716-727. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01569-8. Epub 2024 Feb 12.
The basal ganglia are essential for executing motor actions. How the basal ganglia engage spinal motor networks has remained elusive. Medullary Chx10 gigantocellular (Gi) neurons are required for turning gait programs, suggesting that turning gaits organized by the basal ganglia are executed via this descending pathway. Performing deep brainstem recordings of Chx10 Gi Ca activity in adult mice, we show that striatal projection neurons initiate turning gaits via a dominant crossed pathway to Chx10 Gi neurons on the contralateral side. Using intersectional viral tracing and cell-type-specific modulation, we uncover the principal basal ganglia-spinal cord pathway for locomotor asymmetries in mice: basal ganglia → pontine reticular nucleus, oral part (PnO) → Chx10 Gi → spinal cord. Modulating the restricted PnO → Chx10 Gi pathway restores turning competence upon striatal damage, suggesting that dysfunction of this pathway may contribute to debilitating turning deficits observed in Parkinson's disease. Our results reveal the stratified circuit architecture underlying a critical motor program.
基底神经节对于执行运动动作至关重要。基底神经节如何与脊髓运动网络相互作用仍然难以捉摸。延髓 Chx10 巨细胞 (Gi) 神经元对于转向步态程序是必需的,这表明由基底神经节组织的转向步态是通过这个下行途径来执行的。在成年小鼠中进行深部脑桥记录 Chx10 Gi Ca 活动,我们发现纹状体投射神经元通过占主导地位的交叉途径向对侧的 Chx10 Gi 神经元发起转向步态。通过交叉病毒追踪和细胞类型特异性调制,我们揭示了小鼠运动不对称的主要基底神经节-脊髓途径:基底神经节→脑桥网状核,口腔部分 (PnO)→Chx10 Gi→脊髓。调节受限的 PnO→Chx10 Gi 途径可以恢复纹状体损伤后的转向能力,这表明该途径的功能障碍可能导致帕金森病中观察到的使人衰弱的转向缺陷。我们的研究结果揭示了关键运动程序背后的分层电路结构。