Initiation of segmental locomotor-like activities by stimulation of ventrolateral funiculus in the neonatal rat.

Descending control is critically important for the generation of locomotor activities. Yet, our understanding of the descending control system of locomotion is limited. We hypothesized that stimulation of the ventrolateral funiculus (VLF) induces rhythmic activity in lumbar neurons that is correlated with locomotor-like activity in the neonatal rat. Intracellular recordings were conducted in the L2-L3 lumbar segments, while locomotor-like output was monitored in the L2 and L5 ventral roots. Stimulation of the VLF at thoracic segments induced locomotor-like activity in the L2 and L5 ventral roots in majority of the preparations (26/33). In a few midline split cord preparations (4/13), VLF stimulation induced rhythmic locomotor-like bursts in either L2 or L5 ventral root without alternating pattern between the ventral roots. The response latencies suggest that VLF stimulation induced antidromic activation (<1 ms, 8 cells), monosynaptic activation (1-3 ms, 18 cells), and oligosynaptic activation (3.5-5 ms, 14 cells) of segmental neurons in the lumbar region. VLF stimulation induced rhythmic membrane potential oscillations with or without bursting of action potentials in 9 of 40 putative interneurons. The membrane potential oscillations were in phase with the locomotor-like output of the L2 ventral root in 7 of the 9 cells while the other 2 cells oscillated in phase with the L5 ventral root activity. We have thus demonstrated that descending axons exist in the VLF which make synaptic connections with segmental neurons in the lumbar region that may be a critical element of the locomotor neural network for the initiation of locomotion.