Macpherson J M, Fung J, Jacobs R
R. S. Dow Neurological Sciences Institute, Portland, Oregon 97209, USA.
Adv Neurol. 1997;72:227-32.
In summary, adequate control of postural orientation and equilibrium is a prerequisite for virtually all skilled motor acts, even those apparently simple tasks of standing and walking. In the cat, certain aspects of postural orientation appear to be organized at the spinal level. In contrast, postural equilibrium is not achieved by spinal circuits in isolation, but seems to require input from higher centers. The challenge is to identify those higher centers and the means by which they produce appropriate postural reactions for maintaining balance. If, indeed, postural equilibrium is a function of descending systems, then in the future, the amount of recovery of postural equilibrium after injury and/or treatment could provide a quantitative measure of the degree of sparing and/or re-establishment of functional connections between higher centers and the spinal cord.
总之，对姿势定向和平衡的充分控制是几乎所有熟练运动行为的先决条件，甚至是那些看似简单的站立和行走任务。在猫中，姿势定向的某些方面似乎是在脊髓水平上组织的。相比之下，姿势平衡并非仅靠脊髓回路就能实现，而是似乎需要来自高级中枢的输入。挑战在于识别那些高级中枢以及它们产生维持平衡的适当姿势反应的方式。如果姿势平衡确实是下行系统的功能，那么未来，损伤和/或治疗后姿势平衡的恢复量可以提供高级中枢与脊髓之间功能连接保留和/或重建程度的定量指标。
