Readiness discharge for spontaneous initiation of walking in crayfish.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Katsushi Kagaya, Masakazu Takahata

Abstract

Animals initiate behavior not only reflexively but also spontaneously in the absence of external stimuli. In vertebrates, electrophysiological data on the neuronal activity associated with the self-initiated voluntary behavior have accumulated extensively. In invertebrates, however, little is known about the neuronal basis of the spontaneous initiation of behavior. We investigated the spike activity of brain neurons at the time of spontaneous initiation of walking in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii and found neuronal signals indicative of readiness or preparatory activities in the vertebrate brain that precede the onset of voluntary actions. Those readiness discharge neurons became active >1 s before the initiation of walking regardless of stepping direction. They remained inactive at the onset of mechanical stimulus-evoked walking in which other descending units were recruited. These results suggest that the parallel descending mechanisms from the brain separately subserve the spontaneous and stimulus-evoked walking. Electrical stimulation of these different classes of neurons caused different types of walking. In addition, we found other descending units that represented different aspects of walking, including those units th...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 1, 2011·Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology·Olivia J MullinsW Otto Friesen
Aug 8, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Aaron SchurgerStanislas Dehaene
Jan 17, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Sebo Uithol, Aaron Schurger
Jan 17, 2012·Behavioural Brain Research·Yusuke Tomina, Masakazu Takahata
May 2, 2013·Behavioural Brain Research·Yusuke TominaMasakazu Takahata
Dec 19, 2012·Current Biology : CB·Raghav Rajan, Allison J Doupe
Dec 9, 2015·The Journal of Experimental Biology·K Kagaya, S N Patek
Aug 26, 2014·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Yusuke Tomina, Masakazu Takahata
May 2, 2021·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Aaron SchurgerAdina L Roskies

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