Mechanisms regulating the specificity and strength of muscle afferent inputs in the spinal cord

Synaptic imbalance and increased inhibition impair motor function in SMA

Movement is executed through the balanced action of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in motor circuits of the spinal cord. Short-term perturbations in one of the two types of transmission are counteracted by homeostatic changes of the opposing type. Prolonged failure to balance excitatory and inhibitory drive results in dysfunction at the single neuron, as well as neuronal network levels. However, whether dysfunction in one or both types of neurotransmission leads to pathogenicity in neurodegenerative diseases characterized by select synaptic deficits is not known. Here, we used mouse genetics, functional assays, morphological methods, and viral-mediated approaches to uncover the pathogenic contribution of unbalanced excitation-inhibition neurotransmission in a mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We show that vulnerable motor circuits in the SMA spinal cord fail to respond homeostatically to the reduction of excitatory drive and instead increase inhibition. This imposes an excessive burden on motor neurons and further restricts their recruitment to activate muscle contraction. Importantly, genetic or pharmacological reduction of inhibitory synaptic drive improves neuronal function and provides behavioural benefit in SMA mice. Our findings identify the lack of excitation-inhibition homeostasis as a major maladaptive mechanism in SMA, by which the combined effects of reduced excitation and increased inhibition diminish the capacity of premotor commands to recruit motor neurons and elicit muscle contractions.

Serotonergic dysfunction impairs locomotor coordination in spinal muscular atrophy

Neuromodulation by serotonin regulates the activity of neuronal networks responsible for a wide variety of essential behaviours. Serotonin (or 5-HT) typically activates metabotropic G protein-coupled receptors, which in turn initiate second messenger signalling cascades and induce short and long-lasting behavioural effects. Serotonin is intricately involved in the production of locomotor activity and gait control for different motor behaviours. Although dysfunction of serotonergic neurotransmission has been associated with mood disorders and spasticity after spinal cord injury, whether and to what extent such dysregulation is implicated in movement disorders has not been firmly established. Here, we investigated whether serotonergic neuromodulation is affected in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neurodegenerative disease caused by ubiquitous deficiency of the SMN protein. The hallmarks of SMA are death of spinal motor neurons, muscle atrophy and impaired motor control, both in human patients and mouse models of disease. We used a severe mouse model of SMA, that closely recapitulates the severe symptoms exhibited by type I SMA patients, the most common and most severe form of the disease. Together, with mouse genetics, optogenetics, physiology, morphology and behavioural analysis, we report severe dysfunction of serotonergic neurotransmission in the spinal cord of SMA mice, both at early and late stages of the disease. This dysfunction is followed by reduction of 5-HT synapses on vulnerable motor neurons. We demonstrate that motor neurons innervating axial and trunk musculature are preferentially affected, suggesting a possible cause for the proximo-distal progression of disease, and raising the possibility that it may underlie scoliosis in SMA patients. We also demonstrate that the 5-HT dysfunction is caused by SMN deficiency in serotonergic neurons in the raphe nuclei of the brainstem. The behavioural significance of the dysfunction in serotonergic neuromodulation is underlined by inter-limb discoordination in SMA mice, which is ameliorated when selective restoration of SMN in 5-HT neurons is achieved by genetic means. Our study uncovers an unexpected dysfunction of serotonergic neuromodulation in SMA and indicates that, if normal function is to be restored under disease conditions, 5-HT neuromodulation should be a key target for therapeutic approaches.

In vitro longitudinal lumbar spinal cord preparations to study sensory and recurrent motor microcircuits of juvenile mice

In vitro spinal cord preparations have been extensively used to study microcircuits involved in the control of movement. By allowing precise control of experimental conditions coupled with state-of-the-art genetics, imaging, and electrophysiological techniques, isolated spinal cords from mice have been an essential tool in detailing the identity, connectivity, and function of spinal networks. The majority of the research has arisen from in vitro spinal cords of neonatal mice, which are still undergoing important postnatal maturation. Studies from adults have been attempted in transverse slices, however, these have been quite challenging due to the poor motoneuron accessibility and viability, as well as the extensive damage to the motoneuron dendritic trees. In this work, we describe two types of coronal spinal cord preparations with either the ventral or the dorsal horn ablated, obtained from mice of different postnatal ages, spanning from preweaned to 1 mo old. These semi-intact preparations allow recordings of sensory-afferent and motor-efferent responses from lumbar motoneurons using whole cell patch-clamp electrophysiology. We provide details of the slicing procedure and discuss the feasibility of whole cell recordings. The in vitro dorsal and ventral horn-ablated spinal cord preparations described here are a useful tool to study spinal motor circuits in young mice that have reached the adult stages of locomotor development.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In the past 20 years, most of the research into the mammalian spinal circuitry has been limited to in vitro preparations from embryonic and neonatal mice. We describe two in vitro longitudinal lumbar spinal cord preparations from juvenile mice that allow the study of motoneuron properties and respective afferent or efferent spinal circuits through whole cell patch clamp. These preparations will be useful to those interested in the study of microcircuits at mature stages of motor development.

Development of the Vertebrate Trunk Sensory System: Origins, Specification, Axon Guidance, and Central Connectivity

Crucial to an animal's movement through their environment and to the maintenance of their homeostatic physiology is the integration of sensory information. This is achieved by axons communicating from organs, muscle spindles and skin that connect to the sensory ganglia composing the peripheral nervous system (PNS), enabling organisms to collect an ever-constant flow of sensations and relay it to the spinal cord. The sensory system carries a wide spectrum of sensory modalities - from sharp pain to cool refreshing touch - traveling from the periphery to the spinal cord via the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). This review covers the origins and development of the DRG and the cells that populate it, and focuses on how sensory connectivity to the spinal cord is achieved by the diverse developmental and molecular processes that control axon guidance in the trunk sensory system. We also describe convergences and differences in sensory neuron formation among different vertebrate species to gain insight into underlying developmental mechanisms.

Minor snRNA gene delivery improves the loss of proprioceptive synapses on SMA motor neurons

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an inherited neuromuscular disorder caused by reduced expression of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. SMN has key functions in multiple RNA pathways, including the biogenesis of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins that are essential components of both major (U2-dependent) and minor (U12-dependent) spliceosomes. Here we investigated the specific contribution of U12 splicing dysfunction to SMA pathology through selective restoration of this RNA pathway in mouse models of varying phenotypic severity. We show that virus-mediated delivery of minor snRNA genes specifically improves select U12 splicing defects induced by SMN deficiency in cultured mammalian cells, as well as in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of SMA mice without increasing SMN expression. This approach resulted in a moderate amelioration of several parameters of the disease phenotype in SMA mice, including survival, weight gain, and motor function. Importantly, minor snRNA gene delivery improved aberrant splicing of the U12 intron-containing gene Stasimon and rescued the severe loss of proprioceptive sensory synapses on SMA motor neurons, which are early signatures of motor circuit dysfunction in mouse models. Taken together, these findings establish the direct contribution of U12 splicing dysfunction to synaptic deafferentation and motor circuit pathology in SMA.

Proprioception: Bottom-up directive for motor recovery after spinal cord injury

Proprioceptive feedback provides movement-matched sensory information essential for motor control and recovery after spinal cord injury. While it is understood that the fundamental contribution of proprioceptive feedback circuits in locomotor recovery is to activate the local spinal cord interneurons and motor neurons in a context-dependent manner, the precise mechanisms by which proprioception enables motor recovery after a spinal cord injury remain elusive. Furthermore, how proprioception contributes to motor learning mechanisms intrinsic to spinal cord networks and gives rise to motor recovery is currently unknown. This review discusses the existence of motor learning mechanisms intrinsic to spinal cord circuits and circuit-level insights on how proprioception might contribute to spinal cord plasticity, adaptability, and learning, in addition to the logic in which proprioception helps to establish an internal motor command to execute motor output using spared circuits after a spinal cord injury.

Synapse Formation in Monosynaptic Sensory-Motor Connections Is Regulated by Presynaptic Rho GTPase Cdc42

Spinal reflex circuit development requires the precise regulation of axon trajectories, synaptic specificity, and synapse formation. Of these three crucial steps, the molecular mechanisms underlying synapse formation between group Ia proprioceptive sensory neurons and motor neurons is the least understood. Here, we show that the Rho GTPase Cdc42 controls synapse formation in monosynaptic sensory-motor connections in presynaptic, but not postsynaptic, neurons. In mice lacking Cdc42 in presynaptic sensory neurons, proprioceptive sensory axons appropriately reach the ventral spinal cord, but significantly fewer synapses are formed with motor neurons compared with wild-type mice. Concordantly, electrophysiological analyses show diminished EPSP amplitudes in monosynaptic sensory-motor circuits in these mutants. Temporally targeted deletion of Cdc42 in sensory neurons after sensory-motor circuit establishment reveals that Cdc42 does not affect synaptic transmission. Furthermore, addition of the synaptic organizers, neuroligins, induces presynaptic differentiation of wild-type, but not Cdc42-deficient, proprioceptive sensory neurons in vitro Together, our findings demonstrate that Cdc42 in presynaptic neurons is required for synapse formation in monosynaptic sensory-motor circuits.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Group Ia proprioceptive sensory neurons form direct synapses with motor neurons, but the molecular mechanisms underlying synapse formation in these monosynaptic sensory-motor connections are unknown. We show that deleting Cdc42 in sensory neurons does not affect proprioceptive sensory axon targeting because axons reach the ventral spinal cord appropriately, but these neurons form significantly fewer presynaptic terminals on motor neurons. Electrophysiological analysis further shows that EPSPs are decreased in these mice. Finally, we demonstrate that Cdc42 is involved in neuroligin-dependent presynaptic differentiation of proprioceptive sensory neurons in vitro These data suggest that Cdc42 in presynaptic sensory neurons is essential for proper synapse formation in the development of monosynaptic sensory-motor circuits.

Decerebrate mouse model for studies of the spinal cord circuits

The adult decerebrate mouse model (a mouse with the cerebrum removed) enables the study of sensory-motor integration and motor output from the spinal cord for several hours without compromising these functions with anesthesia. For example, the decerebrate mouse is ideal for examining locomotor behavior using intracellular recording approaches, which would not be possible using current anesthetized preparations. This protocol describes the steps required to achieve a low-blood-loss decerebration in the mouse and approaches for recording signals from spinal cord neurons with a focus on motoneurons. The protocol also describes an example application for the protocol: the evocation of spontaneous and actively driven stepping, including optimization of these behaviors in decerebrate mice. The time taken to prepare the animal and perform a decerebration takes ∼2 h, and the mice are viable for up to 3-8 h, which is ample time to perform most short-term procedures. These protocols can be modified for those interested in cardiovascular or respiratory function in addition to motor function and can be performed by trainees with some previous experience in animal surgery.

Electrical Stimulation of Low-Threshold Proprioceptive Fibers in the Adult Rat Increases Density of Glutamatergic and Cholinergic Terminals on Ankle Extensor α-Motoneurons

The effects of stimulation of low-threshold proprioceptive afferents in the tibial nerve on two types of excitatory inputs to α-motoneurons were tested. The first input is formed by glutamatergic Ia sensory afferents contacting monosynaptically α-motoneurons. The second one is the cholinergic input originating from V0_c—interneurons, located in lamina X of the spinal cord, modulating activity of α-motoneurons via C-terminals. Our aim was to clarify whether enhancement of signaling to ankle extensor α-motoneurons, via direct electrical stimulation addressed predominantly to low-threshold proprioceptive fibers in the tibial nerve of awake rats, will affect Ia glutamatergic and cholinergic innervation of α-motoneurons of lateral gastrocnemius (LG). LG motoneurons were identified with True Blue tracer injected intramuscularly. Tibial nerve was stimulated for 7 days with continuous bursts of three pulses applied in four 20 min sessions daily. The Hoffmann reflex and motor responses recorded from the soleus muscle, LG synergist, allowed controlling stimulation. Ia terminals and C-terminals abutting on LG-labeled α-motoneurons were detected by immunofluorescence (IF) using input-specific anti- VGLUT1 and anti-VAChT antibodies, respectively. Quantitative analysis of confocal images revealed that the number of VGLUT1 IF and VAChT IF terminals contacting the soma of LG α-motoneurons increased after stimulation by 35% and by 26%, respectively, comparing to the sham-stimulated side. The aggregate volume of VGLUT1 IF and VAChT IF terminals increased by 35% and by 30%, respectively. Labeling intensity of boutons was also increased, suggesting an increase of signaling to LG α-motoneurons after stimulation. To conclude, one week of continuous burst stimulation of proprioceptive input to LG α-motoneurons is effective in enrichment of their direct glutamatergic but also indirect cholinergic inputs. The effectiveness of such and longer stimulation in models of injury is a prerequisite to propose it as a therapeutic method to improve inputs to selected group of α-motoneurons after damage.

Role of DSCAM in the development of the spinal locomotor and sensorimotor circuits

Locomotion is controlled by spinal circuits that generate rhythm and coordinate left-right and flexor-extensor motoneuronal activities. The outputs of motoneurons and spinal interneuronal circuits are shaped by sensory feedback, relaying peripheral signals that are critical to the locomotor and postural control. Several studies in invertebrates and vertebrates have argued that the Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM) would play an important role in the normal development of neural circuits through cell spacing and targeting, axonal and dendritic branching, and synapse establishment and maintenance. Although there is evidence that DSCAM is important for the normal development of neural circuits, little is known about its functional contribution to spinal motor circuits. We show here that adult DSCAM(2J) mutant mice, lacking DSCAM, exhibit a higher variability in their locomotor pattern and rhythm during treadmill locomotion. Retrograde tracing studies in neonatal isolated spinal cords show an increased number of spinal commissural interneurons, which likely contributes to reducing the left-right alternation and to increasing the flexor/swing duration during neonatal and adult locomotion. Moreover, our results argue that, by reducing the peripheral excitatory drive onto spinal motoneurons, the DSCAM mutation reduces or abolishes spinal reflexes in both neonatal isolated spinal cords and adult mice, thus likely impairing sensorimotor control. Collectively, our functional, electrophysiological, and anatomical studies suggest that the mammalian DSCAM protein is involved in the normal development of spinal locomotor and sensorimotor circuits.

Development of twitching in sleeping infant mice depends on sensory experience

Myoclonic twitches are jerky movements that occur exclusively and abundantly during active (or REM) sleep in mammals, especially in early development [1-4]. In rat pups, limb twitches exhibit a complex spatiotemporal structure that changes across early development [5]. However, it is not known whether this developmental change is influenced by sensory experience, which is a prerequisite to the notion that sensory feedback from twitches not only activates sensorimotor circuits but modifies them [4]. Here, we investigated the contributions of proprioception to twitching in newborn ErbB2 conditional knockout mice that lack muscle spindles and grow up to exhibit dysfunctional proprioception [6-8]. High-speed videography of forelimb twitches unexpectedly revealed a category of reflex-like twitching-comprising an agonist twitch followed immediately by an antagonist twitch-that developed postnatally in wild-types/heterozygotes, but not in knockouts. Contrary to evidence from adults that spinal reflexes are inhibited during twitching [9-11], this finding suggests that twitches trigger the monosynaptic stretch reflex and, by doing so, contribute to its activity-dependent development [12-14]. Next, we assessed developmental changes in the frequency and organization (i.e., entropy) of more-complex, multi-joint patterns of twitching; again, wild-types/heterozygotes exhibited developmental changes in twitch patterning that were not seen in knockouts. Thus, targeted deletion of a peripheral sensor alters the normal development of local and global features of twitching, demonstrating that twitching is shaped by sensory experience. These results also highlight the potential use of twitching as a uniquely informative diagnostic tool for assessing the functional status of spinal and supraspinal circuits.

From spontaneous motor activity to coordinated behaviour: a developmental model

In mammals, the developmental path that links the primary behaviours observed during foetal stages to the full fledged behaviours observed in adults is still beyond our understanding. Often theories of motor control try to deal with the process of incremental learning in an abstract and modular way without establishing any correspondence with the mammalian developmental stages. In this paper, we propose a computational model that links three distinct behaviours which appear at three different stages of development. In order of appearance, these behaviours are: spontaneous motor activity (SMA), reflexes, and coordinated behaviours, such as locomotion. The goal of our model is to address in silico four hypotheses that are currently hard to verify in vivo: First, the hypothesis that spinal reflex circuits can be self-organized from the sensor and motor activity induced by SMA. Second, the hypothesis that supraspinal systems can modulate reflex circuits to achieve coordinated behaviour. Third, the hypothesis that, since SMA is observed in an organism throughout its entire lifetime, it provides a mechanism suitable to maintain the reflex circuits aligned with the musculoskeletal system, and thus adapt to changes in body morphology. And fourth, the hypothesis that by changing the modulation of the reflex circuits over time, one can switch between different coordinated behaviours. Our model is tested in a simulated musculoskeletal leg actuated by six muscles arranged in a number of different ways. Hopping is used as a case study of coordinated behaviour. Our results show that reflex circuits can be self-organized from SMA, and that, once these circuits are in place, they can be modulated to achieve coordinated behaviour. In addition, our results show that our model can naturally adapt to different morphological changes and perform behavioural transitions.

Enhancing proprioceptive input to motoneurons differentially affects expression of neurotrophin 3 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in rat hoffmann-reflex circuitry

The importance of neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) for motor control prompted us to ask the question whether direct electrical stimulation of low-threshold muscle afferents, strengthening the proprioceptive signaling, could effectively increase the endogenous pool of this neurotrophin and its receptor TrkC in the Hoffmann-reflex (H-reflex) circuitry. The effects were compared with those of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its TrkB receptor. Continuous bursts of stimuli were delivered unilaterally for seven days, 80 min daily, by means of a cuff-electrode implanted over the tibial nerve in awake rats. The H-reflex was recorded in the soleus muscle to control the strength of stimulation. Stimulation aimed at activation of Ia fibers produced a strong increase of NT-3 protein, measured with ELISA, in the lumbar L3-6 segments of the spinal cord and in the soleus muscle. This stimulation exerted much weaker effect on BDNF protein level which slightly increased only in L3-6 segments of the spinal cord. Increased protein level of NT-3 and BDNF corresponded to the changes of NT-3 mRNA and BDNF mRNA expression in L3-6 segments but not in the soleus muscle. We disclosed tissue-specificity of TrkC mRNA and TrkB mRNA responses. In the spinal cord TrkC and TrkB transcripts tended to decrease, whereas in the soleus muscle TrkB mRNA decreased and TrkC mRNA expression strongly increased, suggesting that stimulation of Ia fibers leads to sensitization of the soleus muscle to NT-3 signaling. The possibility of increasing NT-3/TrkC signaling in the neuromuscular system, with minor effects on BDNF/TrkB signaling, by means of low-threshold electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves, which in humans might be applied in non-invasive way, offers an attractive therapeutic tool.

Principles of interneuron development learned from Renshaw cells and the motoneuron recurrent inhibitory circuit

Renshaw cells provide a convenient model to study spinal circuit development during the emergence of motor behaviors with the goal of capturing principles of interneuron specification and circuit construction. This work is facilitated by a long history of research that generated essential knowledge about the characteristics that define Renshaw cells and the recurrent inhibitory circuit they form with motoneurons. In this review, we summarize recent data on the specification of Renshaw cells and their connections. A major insight from these studies is that the basic Renshaw cell phenotype is specified before circuit assembly, a result of their early neurogenesis and migration. Connectivity is later added, constrained by their placement in the spinal cord. Finally, different rates of synapse proliferation alter the relative weights of different inputs on postnatal Renshaw cells. Based on this work some general principles on the integration of spinal interneurons in developing motor circuits are derived.

Sensorimotor function is modulated by the serotonin receptor 1d, a novel marker for gamma motor neurons

Gamma motor neurons (MNs), the efferent component of the fusimotor system, regulate muscle spindle sensitivity. Muscle spindle sensory feedback is required for proprioception that includes sensing the relative position of neighboring body parts and appropriately adjust the employed strength in a movement. The lack of a single and specific genetic marker has long hampered functional and developmental studies of gamma MNs. Here we show that the serotonin receptor 1d (5-ht1d) is specifically expressed by gamma MNs and proprioceptive sensory neurons. Using mice expressing GFP driven by the 5-ht1d promotor, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of 5-ht1d::GFP⁺ and 5-ht1d::GFP⁻ motor neurons from young mice. Hierarchal clustering analysis revealed that gamma MNs have distinct electrophysiological properties intermediate to fast-like and slow-like alpha MNs. Moreover, mice lacking 5-ht1d displayed lower monosynaptic reflex amplitudes suggesting a reduced response to sensory stimulation in motor neurons. Interestingly, adult 5-ht1d knockout mice also displayed improved coordination skills on a beam-walking task, implying that reduced activation of MNs by Ia afferents during provoked movement tasks could reduce undesired exaggerated muscle output. In summary, we show that 5-ht1d is a novel marker for gamma MNs and that the 5-ht1d receptor is important for the ability of proprioceptive circuits to receive and relay accurate sensory information in developing and mature spinal cord motor circuits.

Target selection of proprioceptive and motor axon synapses on neonatal V1-derived Ia inhibitory interneurons and Renshaw cells

The diversity of premotor interneurons in the mammalian spinal cord is generated from a few phylogenetically conserved embryonic classes of interneurons (V0, V1, V2, V3). Their mechanisms of diversification remain unresolved, although these are clearly important to understand motor circuit assembly in the spinal cord. Some Ia inhibitory interneurons (IaINs) and all Renshaw cells (RCs) derive from embryonic V1 interneurons; however, in adult they display distinct functional properties and synaptic inputs, for example proprioceptive inputs preferentially target IaINs, while motor axons target RCs. Previously, we found that both inputs converge on RCs in neonates, raising the possibility that proprioceptive (VGLUT1-positive) and motor axon synapses (VAChT-positive) initially target several different V1 interneurons populations and then become selected or deselected postnatally. Alternatively, specific inputs might precisely connect only with predefined groups of V1 interneurons. To test these hypotheses we analyzed synaptic development on V1-derived IaINs and compared them to RCs of the same age and spinal cord levels. V1-interneurons were labeled using genetically encoded lineage markers in mice. The results show that although neonatal V1-derived IaINs and RCs are competent to receive proprioceptive synapses, these synapses preferentially target the proximal somato-dendritic regions of IaINs and postnatally proliferate on IaINs, but not on RCs. In contrast, cholinergic synapses on RCs are specifically derived from motor axons, while on IaINs they originate from Pitx2 V0c interneurons. Thus, motor, proprioceptive, and even some interneuron inputs are biased toward specific subtypes of V1-interneurons. Postnatal strengthening of these inputs is later superimposed on this initial preferential targeting.

Permanent central synaptic disconnection of proprioceptors after nerve injury and regeneration. I. Loss of VGLUT1/IA synapses on motoneurons

Motor and sensory proprioceptive axons reinnervate muscles after peripheral nerve transections followed by microsurgical reattachment; nevertheless, motor coordination remains abnormal and stretch reflexes absent. We analyzed the possibility that permanent losses of central IA afferent synapses, as a consequence of peripheral nerve injury, are responsible for this deficit. VGLUT1 was used as a marker of proprioceptive synapses on rat motoneurons. After nerve injuries synapses are stripped from motoneurons, but while other excitatory and inhibitory inputs eventually recover, VGLUT1 synapses are permanently lost on the cell body (75-95% synaptic losses) and on the proximal 100 μm of dendrite (50% loss). Lost VGLUT1 synapses did not recover, even many months after muscle reinnervation. Interestingly, VGLUT1 density in more distal dendrites did not change. To investigate whether losses are due to VGLUT1 downregulation in injured IA afferents or to complete synaptic disassembly and regression of IA ventral projections, we studied the central trajectories and synaptic varicosities of axon collaterals from control and regenerated afferents with IA-like responses to stretch that were intracellularly filled with neurobiotin. VGLUT1 was present in all synaptic varicosities, identified with the synaptic marker SV2, of control and regenerated afferents. However, regenerated afferents lacked axon collaterals and synapses in lamina IX. In conjunction with the companion electrophysiological study [Bullinger KL, Nardelli P, Pinter MJ, Alvarez FJ, Cope TC. J Neurophysiol (August 10, 2011). doi:10.1152/jn.01097.2010], we conclude that peripheral nerve injuries cause a permanent retraction of IA afferent synaptic varicosities from lamina IX and disconnection with motoneurons that is not recovered after peripheral regeneration and reinnervation of muscle by sensory and motor axons.

Postnatal refinement of proprioceptive afferents in the cat cervical spinal cord

Proprioceptive afferent (PA) information is integrated with signals from descending pathways, including the corticospinal tract (CST), by spinal interneurons in the dorsal horn and intermediate zone for controlling movements. PA spinal projections, and the reflexes that they evoke, develop prenatally. The CST projects to the spinal cord postnatally, and its connections are subsequently refined. Consequently, the tract becomes effective in transmitting control signals from motor cortex to muscle. This suggests sequential development of PAs and the CST rather than co-development. In this study we determined if there was also late postnatal refinement of PA spinal connections, which would support PA-CST co-development. We examined changes in PA spinal connections at 4 weeks of age, when CST terminations are immature, at 8 weeks, after CST refinement, and at 11 weeks, when CST terminations are mature. We electrically stimulated PA afferents in the deep radial nerve. Evoked PA responses were small and not localized at 4 weeks. By 8 and 11 weeks, responses were substantially larger and maximal in laminae VI and dorsal VII. We used intramuscular injection of cholera toxin β subunit to determine the distribution of PAs from the extensor carpii radialis muscle in the cervical enlargement at the same ages as in the electrophysiological studies. We found a reduction of the distribution of PAs with age that paralleled the physiological changes. This age-related sharpening of PA spinal connections also paralleled CST development, suggesting coordinated PA-CST co-development rather than sequential development. This is likely to be important for the development of adaptive motor control.