Role of basal ganglia–brainstem pathways in the control of motor behaviors

Takakusaki, Kaoru; Saitoh, Ken-ichi; Harada, Hirofumi; Kashiwayanagi, Makoto

doi:10.1016/j.neures.2004.06.015

Cited by 261 publications

(197 citation statements)

References 132 publications

(153 reference statements)

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“…This periodicity in the level of excitability could be caused by fluctuation of input to postural and locomotor centres from some unknown source. One of the possible candidates are the neurons from substantia nigra pars reticulata projecting to MLR and to postural centres [33,34]. However, experimental evidences about periodical activity of these neurons in premammillary animals are absent.…”

Section: Postural Capacity Of Premammillary Rabbitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two structures in this area -the red nucleus and substantia nigra -are known to be related to motor function (see e.g., [20,33,34]). In particular, experimental evidences suggest that substantia nigra pars reticulata takes part in the control of muscle tone and in initiation of locomotion [33,34].…”

Section: Activation Of Postural Mechanisms In Postmammillary Rabbitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Postural performance in decerebrated rabbit

Musienko

Zelenin

Lyalka

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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It is known that animals decerebrated at the premammillary level are capable of standing and walking without losing balance, in contrast to postmammillary ones which do not exhibit such behavior. The main goals of the present study were, first, to characterize the postural performance in premammillary rabbits, and, second, to activate the postural system in postmammillary ones by brainstem stimulation. For evaluation of postural capacity of decerebrated rabbits, motor and EMG responses to lateral tilts of the supporting platform and to lateral pushes were recorded before and after decerebration. In addition, the righting behavior (i.e., standing up from the lying position) was video recorded.We found that, in premammillary rabbits, responses to lateral tilts and pushes were similar to those observed in intact ones, but the magnitude of responses was reduced. During righting, premammillary rabbits assumed the normal position slower than intact ones.To activate the postural system in postmammillary rabbits, we stimulated electrically two brainstem structures, the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) and the ventral tegmental field (VTF). The MLR stimulation (prior to elicitation of locomotion) and the VTF stimulation caused an increase of the tone of hindlimb extensors, and enhanced their responses to lateral tilts and to pushes.These results indicate that the basic mechanisms for maintenance of body posture and equilibrium during standing are present in decerebrated animals. They are active in the premammillary rabbits but need to be activated in the postmammillary ones.

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Section: Postural Capacity Of Premammillary Rabbitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Activation Of Postural Mechanisms In Postmammillary Rabbitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postural performance in decerebrated rabbit

Musienko

Zelenin

Lyalka

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…Anatomically, this design has potential in some circuits: the basal ganglia and mRF do receive separate inputs, and the basal ganglia can bypass the mRF and access the spinal cord via the PPN. However, this basal ganglia-PPN-spinal circuit may be limited to only postural control ( Takakusaki et al 2004). lower levels represent increasingly simple actions, selected by the higher layers.…”

Section: Integration Of the Action-selection Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there a brainstem substrate for action selection?

Humphries

Gurney

Prescott

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The search for the neural substrate of vertebrate action selection has focused on structures in the forebrain and midbrain, and particularly on the group of sub-cortical nuclei known as the basal ganglia. Yet, the behavioural repertoire of decerebrate and neonatal animals suggests the existence of a relatively self-contained neural substrate for action selection in the brainstem. We propose that the medial reticular formation (mRF) is the substrate's main component and review evidence showing that the mRF's inputs, outputs and intrinsic organization are consistent with the requirements of an action-selection system. The internal architecture of the mRF is composed of interconnected neuron clusters. We present an anatomical model which suggests that the mRF's intrinsic circuitry constitutes a small-world network and extend this result to show that it may have evolved to reduce axonal wiring. Potential configurations of action representation within the internal circuitry of the mRF are then assessed by computational modelling. We present new results demonstrating that each cluster's output is most likely to represent activation of a component action; thus, coactivation of a set of these clusters would lead to the coordinated behavioural response observed in the animal. Finally, we consider the potential integration of the basal ganglia and mRF substrates for selection and suggest that they may collectively form a layered/hierarchical control system.

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“…On the basis of findings of our studies (Takakusaki et al, 2004b(Takakusaki et al, , 2006 as well as those of previous works (Grillner 1981, Mori 1987, Rossignol 1996, current perception of the neuronal pathways involved in locomotor control is illustrated in Fig.1A. Motor behaviors require the recruitment of the activities of the entire nervous system (Fig.1A) and musculoskeletal systems (Fig.1B).…”

Section: Fundamental Mechanisms Of Gait Controlmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…As show in Fig.2D, cholinergic neurons were abundantly distributed in the area corresponding to the inhibitory region, indicating that an activation of cholinergic neurons requires muscle tone suppression (Takakusaki et al, 2003a). Our current perception of neuronal mechanisms of controlling postural muscle tone and locomotion is shown in Fig.3A on the basis of previous studies (Grillner 1981;Mori 1987;Rossignol 1996;Takakusaki et al, 2004bTakakusaki et al, , 2006. Three locomotor regions are identified.…”

Section: Mechanisms Of Integrating Posture and Locomotion By Subcortimentioning

confidence: 63%