ArticleNature2016
Motor neurons control locomotor circuit function retrogradely via gap junctions.
Article in Nature, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers.
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Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 156 citations in OpenAlex.
- Motor neurons organize Drosophila feeding sequences via a disinhibitory cascade.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- The Prospective Regulatory Functions of lncRNAs and Their ceRNA Networks in the Development of Motor Neurons and Associated Diseases.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Redefining the central pattern generator for vertebrate locomotion.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Brain inputs to the vestibular nuclei in lampreys.Frontiers in neuroanatomy · 2026Article
- Separate brainstem circuits for fast steering and slow exploratory turns.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Episodic rhythmicity is generated by a distributed neural network in the developing mammalian spinal cord.iScience · 2025Article
- Motor neurons are dispensable for the assembly of a sensorimotor circuit for gaze stabilization.eLife · 2024Article
- Hierarchical behavior control by a single class of interneurons.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Direct retino-iridal projections and intrinsic iris contraction mediate the pupillary light reflex in early vertebrates.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Neuroprotective gap-junction-mediated bystander transformations in the adult zebrafish spinal cord after injury.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Dual electrical stimulation at spinal-muscular interface reconstructs spinal sensorimotor circuits after spinal cord injury.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Article
- Spinal maps of motoneuron activity during human locomotion: neuromechanical considerations.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Review
- Molecular blueprints for spinal circuit modules controlling locomotor speed in zebrafish.Nature neuroscience · 2024Article
- Spinal Interneurons: Diversity and Connectivity in Motor Control.Annual review of neuroscience · 2023Review
- Quetiapine Albumin Nanoparticles as an Efficacious Platform for Brain Deposition and Potentially Improved Antipsychotic Activity.Pharmaceutics · 2023Article
- Mechanosensory signal transmission in the arms and the nerve ring, an interarm connective, ofiScience · 2023Article
- A Single Central Pattern Generator for the Control of a Locomotor Rolling Wave in MolluscResearch (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Article
- Protocol to visualize distinct motoneuron pools in adult zebrafish via injection of retrograde tracers.STAR protocols · 2022Article
- Article
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Motor neurons are the final stage of neural processing for the execution of motor behaviours. Traditionally, motor neurons have been viewed as the 'final common pathway', serving as passive recipients merely conveying to the muscles the final motor program generated by upstream interneuron circuits. Here we reveal an unforeseen role of motor neurons in controlling the locomotor circuit function via gap junctions in zebrafish. These gap junctions mediate a retrograde analogue propagation of voltage fluctuations from motor neurons to control the synaptic release and recruitment of the upstream V2a interneurons that drive locomotion. Selective inhibition of motor neurons during ongoing locomotion de-recruits V2a interneurons and strongly influences locomotor circuit function. Rather than acting as separate units, gap junctions unite motor neurons and V2a interneurons into functional ensembles endowed with a retrograde analogue computation essential for locomotor rhythm generation. These results show that motor neurons are not a passive recipient of motor commands but an integral component of the neural circuits responsible for motor behaviour.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.