Burst discharges of pontine reticular neurons in relation to forelimb stepping of thalamic and high spinal cats.

The paralemniscal pontine reticular neurons (PLRF) exhibited burst discharges when thalamic cats stepped on the moving treadmill, during stepping induced by mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) stimulation, fictive locomotion by MLR stimulation after immobilization and during MLR stimulation after transection at the C2 level. These results imply that MLR stimulation can evoke burst discharge within the brainstem which may obtain alternating limb movements via descending tract to the cervical cord.