scholarly journals GABAergic inactivation of the central pattern generators for locomotion in isolated neonatal rat spinal cord.

1994 ◽  
Vol 474 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Cazalets ◽  
Y Sqalli-Houssaini ◽  
F Clarac
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Pattern Generators ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Pattern Generators

Pattern Generation in Caudal-Lumbar and Sacrococcygeal Segments of the Neonatal Rat Spinal Cord

2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 732-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Gabbay ◽  
I. Delvolvé ◽  
A. Lev-Tov
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Pattern Generators ◽  
Pattern Generation ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Inhibitory Pathways ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Pattern Generators ◽  
Inhibitory Interactions ◽  
Slow Rhythm

The rhythmogenic capacity of the tail-innervating segments (L4-Co3) of the spinal cord was studied in isolated spinal cord and tail–spinal cord preparations of neonatal rats. Bath-applied serotonin/ N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) failed to produce a robust sacrococcygeal rhythmicity following midlumbar transection of the spinal cord. By contrast, a regular alternating left–right rhythm could be induced in the sacrococcygeal segments by application of noradrenaline (NA) or NA and NMDA before and after midlumbar transection of the cord. This rhythm was accelerated with the concentration of NMDA and was blocked by α1 or α2 adrenoceptor antagonists. The efferent bursts induced by NA/NMDA were accompanied by rhythmic tail movements produced by alternating activation of the left and right tail muscles and by coactivation of flexors, extensors, and abductors on a given side of the tail. This coactivation implies that reciprocal inhibitory pathways were not activated during the rhythm. Lesion experiments revealed that the rhythmogenic circuitry is distributed along all or most of the sacrococcygeal segments. The NA/NMDA-induced rhythm persisted in the isolated sacrococcygeal (S1-Co3), sacral (S1-S4), coccygeal (Co1-Co3), and smaller isolated regions of the sacrococcygeal cord. The rhythm also could be maintained in longitudinally split sacrococcygeal hemicords in which flexor, extensor, and abductor motoneurons are coactivated. This finding indicates that neither left/right nor flexor/extensor inhibitory interactions are required for rhythmogenesis in the sacrococcygeal cord. A slow rhythm lacking the alternating left–right pattern was induced by NA/NMDA in tail-innervating caudal lumbar segments of isolated L4-Co3 preparations. This rhythm was independent of the concurrent sacrococcygeal rhythm and the activity pattern of the tail musculature and it does not seem to contribute to rhythmic tail movements under these conditions. Comparative studies of the rhythm produced in the isolated caudal lumbar, sacrococcygeal cord, and caudal thoracic–rostral lumbar segments revealed that the S1-Co3 rhythm was faster than the L4-L6 pattern and slower than the T6-L3 rhythm. It is suggested that the caudal lumbar and sacrococcygeal segments of the cord are normally driven by the faster rostral lumbar central pattern generators. The relevance of the findings described above to pattern generation in the mammalian spinal cord is discussed.

The in vitro neonatal rat spinal cord preparation: a new insight into mammalian locomotor mechanisms

2004 ◽  
Vol 190 (5) ◽  
pp. 343-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Clarac ◽  
E. Pearlstein ◽  
J. F. Pflieger ◽  
L. Vinay
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Insight Into

scholarly journals The role of substance P as a neurotransmitter in the reflexes of slow time courses in the neonatal rat spinal cord

1985 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 663-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Akagi ◽  
Shiro Konishi ◽  
Masanori Otsuka ◽  
Mitsuhiko Yanagisawa
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Substance P ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Slow Time ◽  
Time Courses

GABA-Receptor–Independent Dorsal Root Afferents Depolarization in the Neonatal Rat Spinal Cord

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 2581-2592 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kremer ◽  
A. Lev-Tov
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Dorsal Root ◽  
Gaba Receptor ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Extracellular Potassium ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Extracellular Potassium Concentration ◽  
Dorsal Roots ◽  
Intact Brain ◽  
Dorsal Root Afferents

Kremer, E. and A. Lev-Tov. GABA-receptor–independent dorsal root afferents depolarization in the neonatal rat spinal cord. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 2581–2592, 1998. Dorsal root afferent depolarization and antidromic firing were studied in isolated spinal cords of neonatal rats. Spontaneous firing accompanied by occasional bursts could be recorded from most dorsal roots in the majority of the cords. The afferent bursts were enhanced after elevation of the extracellular potassium concentration ([K+]e) by 1–2 mM. More substantial afferent bursts were produced when the cords were isolated with intact brain stems. Rhythmic afferent bursts could be recorded from dorsal roots in some of the cords during motor rhythm induced by bath-applied serotonin and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA). Bilaterally synchronous afferent bursts were produced in pairs of dorsal roots after replacing the NaCl in the perfusate with sodium-2-hydroxyethansulfonate or after application of the γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptor antagonist bicuculline with or without serotonin (5-HT) and NMDA. Antidromic afferent bursts also could be elicited under these conditions by stimulation of adjacent dorsal roots, ventrolateral funiculus axons, or ventral white commissural (VWC) fibers. The antidromic bursts were superimposed on prolonged dorsal root potentials (DRPs) and accompanied by a prolonged increase in intraspinal afferent excitability. Surgical manipulations of the cord revealed that afferent firing in the presence of bicuculline persisted in the hemicords after hemisection and still was observed after removal of their ventral horns. Cutting the VWC throughout its length did not perturb the bilateral synchronicity of the discharge. These findings suggest that the activity of dorsal horn neurons is sufficient to produce the discharge and that the bilateral synchronicity can be maintained by cross connectivity that is relayed from side to side dorsal to the VWC. Antagonists of GABAB, 5-HT2/5-HT1C, or glutamate metabotropic group II and III receptors could not abolish afferent depolarization in the presence of bicuculline. Depolarization comparable in amplitude to DRPs, could be produced in tetrodotoxin-treated cords by elevation of [K+]e to the levels reported to develop in the neonatal rat spinal cord in response to dorsal root stimulation. A mechanism involving potassium transients produced by neuronal activity therefore is suggested to be the major cause of the GABA-independent afferent depolarization reported in our study. Possible implications of potassium transients in the developing and the adult mammalian spinal cord are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document