Motor control largely depends on the deep layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons that project to subcortical structures. However, it is largely unknown if these neurons are functionally segregated with distinct roles in movement performance. Here, we analyzed mouse motor cortex L5 pyramidal neurons projecting to the red and pontine nuclei during movement preparation and execution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the postnatal brain, three regions show high mitotic activity. These brain areas are neurogenic niches, and each niche harbors a microenvironment favorable for the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. These multipotential cells maintain the capacity to self-renew and generate intermediate precursors that will differentiate into neuronal and glial lineages (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) are fundamental elements for motor control. However, it is largely unknown if PTNs are segregated into different subtypes with distinct characteristics.
Methods: Using anatomical and electrophysiological tools, we analyzed in mice motor cortex PTNs projecting to red and pontine midbrain nuclei, which are important hubs connecting cerebral cortex and cerebellum playing a critical role in the regulation of movement.
The ability to learn motor skills implicates an improvement in accuracy, speed and consistency of movements. Motor control is related to movement execution and involves corticospinal neurons (CSp), which are broadly distributed in layer 5B of the motor and somatosensory cortices. CSp neurons innervate the spinal cord and are functionally diverse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe knowledge about how different subsystems participate and interplay in sensorimotor control is fundamental to understand motor deficits associated with CNS injury and movement recovery. The role of corticospinal (CS) and rubrospinal (RS) projections in motor control has been extensively studied and compared, and it is clear that both systems are important for skilled movement. However, during phylogeny, the emerging cerebral cortex took a higher hierarchical role controlling rubro-cerebellar circuits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Movement performance depends on the synaptic interactions generated by coherent parallel sensorimotor cortical outputs to different downstream targets. The major outputs of the neocortex to subcortical structures are driven by pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) located in layer 5B. One of the main targets of PTNs is the spinal cord through the corticospinal (CS) system, which is formed by a complex collection of distinct CS circuits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFacial vibrissae, commonly known as whiskers, are the main sensitive tactile system in rodents. Whisker stimulation triggers neuronal activity that promotes neural plasticity in the barrel cortex (BC) and helps create spatial maps in the adult hippocampus. Moreover, activity-dependent inputs and calcium homeostasis modulate adult neurogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current knowledge in neuroscience indicates that neural tissue has two major cell populations: neurons and glia (term derived from the Greek word for ). Neuronal population is characterized by the capacity to produce action potentials, whereas glial cells are typically identified as the subordinate cell population of neurons. To date, this point of view has changed dramatically and growing evidence indicates that glial cells play a crucial role in normal mental functions and the pathogenesis of neurological diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG) in the hippocampus is a process that involves proliferation, differentiation, maturation, migration, and integration of young neurons in the granular layer of DG. These newborn neurons mature in three to four weeks and incorporate into neural circuits in the hippocampus. There, these new neurons play a role in cognitive functions, such as acquisition and retention of memory, which are consolidated during sleep period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe subgranular zone (SGZ) in the dentate gyrus contains radial astrocytes, known as Type-1 or Type-B cells, which generate neuroblasts (Type-2 cells or Type-D cells) that give rise to granular neurons. Stress increases glucocorticoid levels that target SGZ and modify the proliferation and apoptosis of hippocampal cells. Yet, it is not well-known whether stress differentially affects SGZ progenitors.
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