Chapter 4--supraspinal control of locomotion: the mesencephalic locomotor region

Abstract

Locomotion is a basic motor function generated and controlled by genetically defined neuronal networks. The pattern of muscle synergies is generated in the spinal cord, whereas neural centers located above the spinal cord in the brainstem and the forebrain are essential for initiating and controlling locomotor movements. One such locomotor control center in the brainstem is the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR), first discovered in cats and later found in all vertebrate species tested to date. Over the last years, we have investigated the cellular mechanisms by which this locomotor region operates in lampreys. The lamprey MLR is a well-circumscribed region located at the junction between the midbrain and hindbrain. Stimulation of the MLR induces locomotion with an intensity that increases with the stimulation strength. Glutamatergic and cholinergic monosynaptic inputs from the MLR are responsible for excitation of reticulospinal (RS) cells that in turn activate the spinal locomotor networks. The inputs are larger in the rostral than in the caudal hindbrain RS cells. MLR stimulation on one side elicits symmetrical excitatory inputs in RS cells on both sides, and this is linked to bilateral projections of the MLR to RS cells. In addition to its inputs to RS cells, the MLR activates a well-defined group of muscarinoceptive cells in the brainstem that feeds back strong excitation to RS cells in order to amplify the locomotor output. Finally, the MLR gates sensory inputs to the brainstem through a muscarinic mechanism. It appears therefore that the MLR not only controls locomotor activity but also filters sensory influx during locomotion.