PUBLICATION

Spinal cords: Symphonies of interneurons across species

Authors
Wilson, A.C., Sweeney, L.B.
ID
ZDB-PUB-230515-30
Date
2023
Source
Frontiers in neural circuits   17: 11464491146449 (Review)
Registered Authors
Keywords
cross-species comparison, interneuron, motor control, movement, spinal cord, vertebrate evolution
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Humans
  • Interneurons/physiology
  • Larva
  • Mammals
  • Mice
  • Motor Neurons/physiology
  • Spinal Cord*/physiology
  • Swimming/physiology
  • Zebrafish*/physiology
PubMed
37180760 Full text @ Front. Neural Circuits
Abstract
Vertebrate movement is orchestrated by spinal inter- and motor neurons that, together with sensory and cognitive input, produce dynamic motor behaviors. These behaviors vary from the simple undulatory swimming of fish and larval aquatic species to the highly coordinated running, reaching and grasping of mice, humans and other mammals. This variation raises the fundamental question of how spinal circuits have changed in register with motor behavior. In simple, undulatory fish, exemplified by the lamprey, two broad classes of interneurons shape motor neuron output: ipsilateral-projecting excitatory neurons, and commissural-projecting inhibitory neurons. An additional class of ipsilateral inhibitory neurons is required to generate escape swim behavior in larval zebrafish and tadpoles. In limbed vertebrates, a more complex spinal neuron composition is observed. In this review, we provide evidence that movement elaboration correlates with an increase and specialization of these three basic interneuron types into molecularly, anatomically, and functionally distinct subpopulations. We summarize recent work linking neuron types to movement-pattern generation across fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
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