A topographic map of recruitment in spinal cord

David L. McLean, Jingyi Fan, Shin-ichi Higashijima, Melina E. Hale and Joseph R. Fetcho ()
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David L. McLean: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Jingyi Fan: University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
Shin-ichi Higashijima: National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience and National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Myodaiji Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
Melina E. Hale: University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
Joseph R. Fetcho: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Nature, 2007, vol. 446, issue 7131, 71-75

Abstract: Running through the gears An unexpected type of functional organization has been discovered in the spinal cord: the position of a neuron along the dorso-ventral axis of spinal cord in larval zebrafish is directly related to the swimming speed that triggers the neuron to fire. Electrophysiology and in vivo imaging reveal that motor neurons and excitatory interneurons located more dorsally are engaged at faster swimming speeds, while those located more ventrally — towards the lower half of the spinal cord — fire at slower speeds. This apparent mapping of spinal cord function enables the zebrafish to move efficiently throughout its speed range. Early spinal cord development is highly conserved, from fish to amphibians and mammals, so this type of organization may have parallels elsewhere in the animal kingdom.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05588

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