Grant: Project Grant

Locomotion allows individuals to move within their environment and the loss of this important motor function has dire consequences on the quality of life. Research carried out in my lab focuses on the neural mechanisms responsible for initiating, maintaining, and terminating locomotion, using a basal vertebrate animal model, the lamprey. The brain structures controlling locomotion in the lamprey have a very similar organisation to that of mammals, but they are relatively simpler (much fewer cells) and more accessible for studying the cellular mechanisms underlying locomotion. One brain area known to play a crucial role in the control of locomotion is the Mesencephalic Locomotor Region (MLR). There has recently been a resurgence of interest in the MLR, because Deep Brain Stimulation of this region is now used as a clinical tool to improve walking in patients with gait disorders associated with neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, clinical trials have recently begun using MLR stimulation to improve locomotion in patients with partial spinal cord injury. Because the MLR is now a target for stimulation in humans, it becomes essential to understand how this brain region operates. Using an array of neuroscience techniques, we will define the neural mechanisms by which the MLR activates specific populations of cells that start, maintain, and stop locomotion. In addition, we will determine how the neural activity in the MLR is controlled by incoming inputs from higher brain structures. By providing a better knowledge of the cellular mechanisms involved in MLR function, our work will complement the research on genetically defined populations of neurons in mammals and the findings should collectively translate into better strategies for restoring locomotor function in patients.