Fundamental Themes in Neurosciences - Samuel Pfaff

Identification of spinal circuitry involved in regulating motor activity

Samuel Pfaff Professor, Salk Institute andInvestigator, HHMI

Host: Kang Shen

Abstract

The rich behavioral repertoire of animals is encoded in the CNS as a set of motor neuron activation patterns, called 'motor synergies'. However, the neurons that orchestrate these motor programs as well as their cellular properties and connectivity are poorly understood. We have used viral tracing, Ca imaging, and genetic methods to identify interneurons that comprise a cellular network for encoding coordinated motor output programs. The basic architecture and genetic requirements of this network will be described.