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The brain integrates proprioceptive information to ensure robust locomotion

View ORCID ProfileAlessandro Santuz, View ORCID ProfileOlivier D. Laflamme, View ORCID ProfileTurgay Akay
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.28.441796
Alessandro Santuz
1Atlantic Mobility Action Project, Brain Repair Centre, Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
2Department of Training and Movement Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
3Berlin School of Movement Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
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  • For correspondence: alessandro.santuz@dal.ca turgay.akay@dal.ca
Olivier D. Laflamme
1Atlantic Mobility Action Project, Brain Repair Centre, Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
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Turgay Akay
1Atlantic Mobility Action Project, Brain Repair Centre, Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
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  • For correspondence: alessandro.santuz@dal.ca turgay.akay@dal.ca
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Abstract

Robust locomotion relies on information from proprioceptors: sensory organs that communicate the position of body parts to the spinal cord and brain. Proprioceptive circuits in the spinal cord are known to regulate locomotion in challenging environments. Yet, the regulatory importance of the brain remains less clear. Here, through mouse genetic studies and in vivo electrophysiology, we examined the role of the brain in integrating proprioceptive information during locomotion. The systemic removal of proprioceptors left the animals in a constantly perturbed state, similar to that observed during mechanically perturbed locomotion in wild type and characterised by longer and less accurate activation patterns. In contrast, after surgically interrupting the ascending proprioceptive projection to the brain through the dorsal column pathway, wild-type mice showed normal walking behaviour, but lost the ability to respond to external perturbations. Our findings provide direct evidence of a pivotal role for ascending proprioceptive information in achieving safe locomotion.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • https://zenodo.org/record/4724766#.YImCBbUzbt8

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 28, 2022.
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The brain integrates proprioceptive information to ensure robust locomotion
Alessandro Santuz, Olivier D. Laflamme, Turgay Akay
bioRxiv 2021.04.28.441796; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.28.441796
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The brain integrates proprioceptive information to ensure robust locomotion
Alessandro Santuz, Olivier D. Laflamme, Turgay Akay
bioRxiv 2021.04.28.441796; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.28.441796

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