Motor control: Snake neurons speed up.

How are motor neurons tuned for very different jobs? Classic work has focused on variations in motor neuron size and their premotor networks. New results in rattlesnakes show that shifting a motor neuron's temporal precision can be as simple as changing its potassium channel conductance.

Organization of vestibular circuits for postural control in zebrafish.

Most animals begin controlling their posture, or orientation with respect to gravity, at an early stage in life. Posture is vital for locomotor function. Even animals like fish, which are capable of swimming upside-down, must actively control their orientation to coordinate behaviors such as capturing prey near the water's surface.

Neuronal birthdate reveals topography in a vestibular brainstem circuit for gaze stabilization.

Across the nervous system, neurons with similar attributes are topographically organized. This topography reflects developmental pressures. Oddly, vestibular (balance) nuclei are thought to be disorganized.

Spinal Interneurons: Diversity and Connectivity in Motor Control.

The spinal cord is home to the intrinsic networks for locomotion. An animal in which the spinal cord has been fully severed from the brain can still produce rhythmic, patterned locomotor movements as long as some excitatory drive is provided, such as physical, pharmacological, or electrical stimuli. Yet it remains a challenge to define the underlying circuitry that produces these movements because the spinal cord contains a wide variety of neuron classes whose patterns of interconnectivity are still poorly understood.

Clonally related, Notch-differentiated spinal neurons integrate into distinct circuits.

Shared lineage has diverse effects on patterns of neuronal connectivity. In mammalian cortex, excitatory sister neurons assemble into shared microcircuits. In , in contrast, sister neurons with different levels of Notch expression (Notch/Notch) develop distinct identities and diverge into separate circuits.