AI Article Synopsis

  • Motor circuits are crucial for producing various movements, from simple actions like swimming to complex tasks like human manipulation.
  • Research has shown that despite long-standing efforts, understanding of motor circuit development and function is still lacking, but recent advancements provide new tools for exploration.
  • Recent studies on both vertebrates (like mice and frogs) and invertebrates (such as nematodes and fruit flies) have revealed important cellular and molecular processes in the development and functioning of motor circuits, highlighting both shared and unique mechanisms across species.

Article Abstract

Motor circuits represent the main output of the central nervous system and produce dynamic behaviors ranging from relatively simple rhythmic activities like swimming in fish and breathing in mammals to highly sophisticated dexterous movements in humans. Despite decades of research, the development and function of motor circuits remain poorly understood. Breakthroughs in the field recently provided new tools and tractable model systems that set the stage to discover the molecular mechanisms and circuit logic underlying motor control. Here, we describe recent advances from both vertebrate (mouse, frog) and invertebrate (nematode, fruit fly) systems on cellular and molecular mechanisms that enable motor circuits to develop and function and highlight conserved and divergent mechanisms necessary for motor circuit development.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11450535PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1238-24.2024DOI Listing

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