Unique spinal nerve cell activity discovery
Scientists from the University of Leicester have hit upon unique forms of spinal nerve activity that shape output of nerve cell networks controlling motor behaviours.
The breakthrough in the Department of Biology at the University of Leicester is announced in the journal Current Biology. The three-year study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Although the neural basis of motor control has been studied for over a century, the processes controlling maturation of locomotor behaviours – like walking and swimming - are not fully understood.
The University of Leicester research into nerve cells responsible for motor behaviours was carried out on fish. The team aimed to understand how spinal networks produce rhythmic activity from a very immature stage - and how such activity changes during maturation.
The team used zebrafish, a freshwater fish native to northern India and Bangladesh, because their motor networks are similar to humans. However, as they are fertilized outside the mother and their embryos are transparent, scientists can readily monitor motor network development from its onset - something that is very difficult to do in mammals.
