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Development and function of motor circuits

Research Project
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01.04.2015
 - 31.03.2018

The aim of our research is to unravel the organization and function of neuronal circuits controlling motor behavior. Movement is the common behavioral output of all CNS activity, yet how different movement patterns emerge and are regulated at the level of precisely connected neuronal circuits in an animal is currently poorly understood. In the BoE extension of my current SNF grant, we would like to exploit how motor output pathways orchestrate the precise control of motor output regulation in the spinal cord in intact animals, and how this process is influenced by sensory feedback circuits from muscles. This work lays the foundation for a research direction addressing how these identified neuronal circuit elements respond to spinal cord injury. We are convinced that together, these experiments will help to reveal general principles governing neuronal circuit organization at the level of identified neuronal subpopulations involved in motor control, as well as determine the factors influencing motor circuit reorganization after injury.

Funding

Development and function of motor circuits

SNF Projekt (GrantsTool), 04.2015-03.2018 (36)
PI : Arber, Silvia.

Publications

Arber, Silvia (2017) ‘Organization and function of neuronal circuits controlling movement’, EMBO Molecular Medicine, 9(3), pp. 281–284. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201607226.

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Capelli, Paolo et al. (2017) ‘Locomotor speed control circuits in the caudal brainstem’, Nature, 551(7680), pp. 373–377. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24064.

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Wu, Jinjin et al. (2017) ‘A V0 core neuronal circuit for inspiration’, Nature Communications, 8(1), p. 544. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00589-2.

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Ruder, Ludwig, Takeoka, Aya and Arber, Silvia (2016) ‘Long-Distance Descending Spinal Neurons Ensure Quadrupedal Locomotor Stability’, Neuron, 92(5), pp. 1063–1078. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.032.

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Satoh, Daisuke, Pudenz, Christiane and Arber, Silvia (2016) ‘Context-Dependent Gait Choice Elicited by EphA4 Mutation in Lbx1 Spinal Interneurons’, Neuron, 89(5), pp. 1046–58. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.01.033.

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Tovote, Philip et al. (2016) ‘Midbrain circuits for defensive behaviour’, Nature, 534(7606), pp. 206–12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17996.

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Basaldella, Emanuela et al. (2015) ‘Multisensory Signaling Shapes Vestibulo-Motor Circuit Specificity’, Cell, 163(2), pp. 301–12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.09.023.

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Members (6)

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Silvia Arber

Principal Investigator
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Keith Gunapala

Project Member
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Ludwig Ruder

Project Member
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Manuel Joao Neves Ferreira Pinto

Project Member
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Matthias Heindorf

Project Member
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Wuzhou Yang

Project Member