Neural Control of Rhythmic Movements in Vertebrates (Wiley Series in Neurobiology) - Tapa blanda

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About the editors Avis H. Cohen, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate in the Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University. Her research includes studies of the lamprey central pattern generator for locomotion, spinal regeneration, and models of coupled non-linear oscillators. Serge Rossignol, MD, PhD, is Professor of Physiology and a member of the MRC group in Neurological Sciences at the Université de Montréal. He studies sensory-motor integration during locomotion in higher vertebrates. Sten Grillner, MD, PhD, is Professor of Physiology and head of the Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. His work on cats and lamprey is devoted to the study of the cellular basis of vertebrate locomotion.

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During the 1960s, important discoveries were made regarding the neural origin of rhythmic motor acts. The evolution of "simple" invertebrate preparations and experimentally amenable vertebrate preparations make it clear that different rhythmic motor patterns are coordinated by an interaction between a complex neuronal network often referred to as a central pattern generator (CPG) residing within the central nervous system, and peripheral signals arising as a consequence of the movements themselves. Today, we have reached a level of knowledge in the vertebrate sphere that enables us to trace specific motor patterns and understand the organizational features underlying the motor acts?a level that allows us to delve into more meaningful questions about the cellular basis of behavior. Drawing upon a wide range of organisms, movements, and perspectives, this book offers a unique combination of experimental and theoretical analyses (yet requiring a minimum background in mathematics) of the neural control of rhythmic movement. In the first section, Neural Control of Rhythmic Movements in Vertebrates explains the principles involved in the relatively simple nervous system of invertebrates to help readers better understand vertebrate systems in subsequent chapters. Drawing from the wealth of available data on invertebrate studies, the editors outline the structural elements of CPGs and their functional roles, and describe how neuromodulators function to regulate and restructure the circuits. Next, the book compares the control of locomotion and scratch, and discusses sensory afferents and their control of locomotion, respiration and mastication. It also examines:

• Locomotion across vertebrates in order to gain insights into the organization and evolution of the locomotor pattern generator
• Undulatory movements of several species with a more in-depth treatment of the lamprey pattern generator for swimming
• The principles and mechanisms underlying the generation of respiration and mastication

The last section offers a unique view of theoretical and modeling techniques that is useful to a wide range of fields. In simple, mathematical terms, it lays out models and perspectives on systems of coupled non-linear oscillators. It also reviews and evaluates the role of synthetic models which have been the more traditional method for conceptualizing the structure of neural circuits, and presents an analytic approach to the study of motor output in order to help extract some basic features out of seemingly more complex data. Neural Control of Rhythmic Movements in Vertebrates is an invaluable addition to the growing literature on this important new area in neuroscience that will benefit neuroscientists, biologists, bioengineers, medical doctors, physiologists, kinesiologists, and applied mathematicians alike.