This proposal seeks to examine the neurophysiological mechanisms and anatomical connections underlying the control and activation of coordinated body movements. This study is specifically concerned with the functioning of certain reticulospinal neurons and their role as a command system. Little is known about the functional organization of command systems in vertebrates, though they are one of the basic ways for controlling movements in lower animals. The proposed research will examine this issue by studying a model, the neural network that triggers a complex escape response involving a global coordination of the body musculature in teleost fish. We have already identified and studied one prominent cell, the Mauthner neuron, important in this behavioral response. The objectives of the proposed work are to use physiological and anatomical methods to identify the other major neurons important in the escape response. Once these cells are identified, we will study their characteristics and relationship to the Mauthner cell. The long term goal of these studies is to gain insights from this model system into the general mechanisms by which locomotor patterns are initiated and organized by the brain.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS022621-03
Application #
3405264
Study Section
Neurology B Subcommittee 1 (NEUB)
Project Start
1985-07-01
Project End
1989-04-30
Budget Start
1987-07-01
Budget End
1989-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado at Boulder
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Boulder
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80309
Eaton, R C; Hofve, J C; Fetcho, J R (1995) Beating the competition: the reliability hypothesis for Mauthner axon size. Brain Behav Evol 45:183-94
Eaton, R C; Popper, A N (1995) The octavolateralis system and Mauthner cell: interactions and questions. Brain Behav Evol 46:124-30
Eaton, R C; Canfield, J G; Guzik, A L (1995) Left-right discrimination of sound onset by the Mauthner system. Brain Behav Evol 46:165-79
Lee, R K; Finger, T E; Eaton, R C (1993) GABAergic innervation of the Mauthner cell and other reticulospinal neurons in the goldfish. J Comp Neurol 338:601-11
Foreman, M B; Eaton, R C (1993) The direction change concept for reticulospinal control of goldfish escape. J Neurosci 13:4101-13
Lee, R K; Eaton, R C; Zottoli, S J (1993) Segmental arrangement of reticulospinal neurons in the goldfish hindbrain. J Comp Neurol 329:539-56
Eaton, R C; DiDomenico, R; Nissanov, J (1991) Role of the Mauthner cell in sensorimotor integration by the brain stem escape network. Brain Behav Evol 37:272-85
Eaton, R C; Emberley, D S (1991) How stimulus direction determines the trajectory of the Mauthner-initiated escape response in a teleost fish. J Exp Biol 161:469-87
Nissanov, J; Eaton, R C; DiDomenico, R (1990) The motor output of the Mauthner cell, a reticulospinal command neuron. Brain Res 517:88-98
Eaton, R C; DiDomenico, R; Nissanov, J (1988) Flexible body dynamics of the goldfish C-start: implications for reticulospinal command mechanisms. J Neurosci 8:2758-68

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