ReviewThe Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry2024
The Mesencephalic Locomotor Region: Multiple Cell Types, Multiple Behavioral Roles, and Multiple Implications for Disease.
Review in The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vestibular nucleus stimulation for ameliorating locomotor dynamics in a Parkinsonian mouse model.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Redefining the central pattern generator for vertebrate locomotion.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Neurons of the precuneiform nucleus share structural and functional properties of the mesencephalic locomotor region.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Red Nucleus Excitatory Neurons Initiate Directional Motor Movement in Mice.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Behavioral, Endocrine, and Neuronal Responses to Odors in Lampreys.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Cell-type specific sensory and motor activity in the cuneiform nucleus and pedunculopontine nucleus in mice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Pedunculopontine-stimulation obstructs hippocampal theta rhythm and halts movement.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Anatomical pathways and functional implications of the rodent auditory system-basal ganglia interconnectivity.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Review
- Integrated analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing and bulk transcriptome data identifies a pyroptosis-associated diagnostic model for Parkinson's disease.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Olfactory Projections to Locomotor Control Centers in the Sea Lamprey.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Dopamine-sensitive neurons in the mesencephalic locomotor region control locomotion initiation, stop, and turns.Cell reports · 2024Article
- Inhibitory medial zona incerta pathway drives exploratory behavior by inhibiting glutamatergic cuneiform neurons.Nature communications · 2024Article
- The mesencephalic locomotor region recruits V2a reticulospinal neurons to drive forward locomotion in larval zebrafish.Nature neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) controls locomotion in vertebrates. In humans with Parkinson disease, locomotor deficits are increasingly associated with decreased activity in the MLR. This brainstem region, commonly considered to include the cuneiform and pedunculopontine nuclei, has been explored as a target for deep brain stimulation to improve locomotor function, but the results are variable, from modest to promising. However, the MLR is a heterogeneous structure, and identification of the best cell type to target is only beginning. Here, I review the studies that uncovered the role of genetically defined MLR cell types, and I highlight the cells whose activation improves locomotor function in animal models of Parkinson disease. The promising cell types to activate comprise some glutamatergic neurons in the cuneiform and caudal pedunculopontine nuclei, as well as some cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine nucleus. Activation of MLR GABAergic neurons should be avoided, since they stop locomotion or evoke bouts flanked with numerous stops. MLR is also considered a potential target in spinal cord injury, supranuclear palsy, primary progressive freezing of gait, or stroke. Better targeting of the MLR cell types should be achieved through optimized deep brain stimulation protocols, pharmacotherapy, or the development of optogenetics for human use.
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Registered trials
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.