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Locomotion: Circuits and Physiology

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Neuroscience in the 21st Century

Abstract

Locomotion is a complex motor behavior needed by animals and humans to move through the environment. All forms of locomotion, including swimming, flying, walking, running, and hopping, are repetitive motor activities that require the activation of the limb and body muscles in an organized rhythm and pattern. Locomotion is regulated by several different neuronal systems in the brain and spinal cord. The behavior is selected by the basal ganglia and initiated by the mesencephalic locomotor region in the midbrain via the reticulospinal neurons in the lower brainstem. This leads to the activation of the locomotor networks, called central pattern generators, in the spinal cord which produce the rhythm and pattern of locomotion and convey it to the muscles. Locomotion is further regulated by feedback from skin and muscle afferents and neuromodulatory systems which act on the central pattern generator. Cerebellar and cortical motor circuits allow for the adjustment of ongoing locomotion based on information from the movements themselves and the sensory systems. This chapter will summarize these different regulatory neuronal components involved in the control of locomotion.

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Abbreviations

5HT:

5-hydroxytryptamine

BG:

Basal ganglia

BSN:

Brainstem nuclei

Cer:

Cerebellum

Chx10:

Ceh-10 homeodomain-containing homolog

CN:

Commissural Neuron

CPG:

Central Pattern Generator

Dbx1:

Developing brain homeobox 1

DSCT:

Dorsal spinocerebellar tract

eCN:

excitatory commissural neuron

eIN:

excitatory interneuron

En1:

Engrailed 1

Evx1:

Even-skipped homeobox

FP:

Floor Plate

GATA:

GATA binding protein

Hb9:

Homeobox 9

Hyp:

Hypothalamus

IA :

Transient potassium current

iCN:

Inhibitory commissural neuron

Ih :

Hyperpolarization activated inward current

IN:

Interneuron

iIN:

inhibitory interneuron

IT :

Transient calcium current

L2; L5:

lumbar roots 2 and 5

L-DOPA:

L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine

MCtx:

Motor Cortex

MLR:

Mesencephalic Locomotor Region

MN:

Motor Neuron

NMDA:

N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid

pPCtx:

posterioparietal cortex

rIa:

reciprocally connected inhibitory Ia-interneurons

RbS:

Rubrospinal

RC:

Renshaw Cell

RF:

Reticular Formation

RS:

Reticulospinal

Sim 1:

Single-minded homolog 1

VCtx:

Visual Cortex

VL:

ventrolateral, thalamus

VLF:

Ventrolateral Funiculus

VS:

Vestibulospinal

VSCT:

Ventral Spinocerebellar tract

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, The Karolinska Institute, Retziusväg 8, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

    Ole Kiehn (Professor) & Dr. Kimberly Dougherty

Authors
  1. Ole Kiehn
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  2. Dr. Kimberly Dougherty
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ole Kiehn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

    Donald W. Pfaff

Glossary

Central Pattern Generator (CPG)

Neuronal networks responsible for the phasing and timing of rhythmic activity.

Fictive Locomotion

Locomotion without movements; the motor pattern recorded from motor nerves.

Locomotion

Motor behavior allowing for movement through the environment; includes walking, swimming, flying, running, and hopping.

Mesencephalic Locomotor Region (MLR)

Midbrain region where locomotor commands from higher structures are integrated and and initiating locomotion.

Neuromodulation

Alteration of ongoing CPG activity by monoamines or other neurochemicals released over groups of neurons to indicate state, use-dependence, or drive; neurons releasing neuromodulators can be extrinsic or intrinsic to the locomotor CPG.

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Kiehn, O., Dougherty, K. (2013). Locomotion: Circuits and Physiology. In: Pfaff, D.W. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1997-6_42

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