Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

A major obstacle in restoring function after spinal cord injury is our lack of knowledge of the neural networks in the spinal cord that coordinate locomotion. These neuronal networks are comprised of interneurons and are known as the locomotor central pattern generator (CPG). Defects in these neural networks can compromise ones ability to maintain normal posture, execute coordinated movements and walk. Hence, much of the ongoing research attempting to promote functional regeneration of walking following spinal cord injury has involved attempts to restore connections from higher centres to the locomotor CPG, so as to take advantage of its powerful rhythm generating capacity. In this proposal, I will combine cutting edge molecular techniques with classical classical electrophysiological and anatomical techniques to characterize a population of cells (the V0 cell population) and determine whether they are candidates to be interneurons that initiate locomotor activity. Clearly, a detailed characterization of the interneurons that comprise the locomotor CPG, and a better understanding of how they regulate motoneuron activity, would benefit the development of therapies aimed at enhancing functional recovery of locomotion.