title: Propagation of sinusoidal electrical waves along the spinal cord during a fictive motor task.
abstract: We present for the first time direct electrophysiological evidence of the phenomenon of traveling electrical waves produced by populations of interneurons within the spinal cord. We show that, during a fictive rhythmic motor task, scratching, an electrical field potential of spinal interneurons takes the shape of a sinuous wave, "sweeping" the lumbosacral spinal cord rostrocaudally with a mean speed of approximately 0.3 m/s. We observed that traveling waves and scratching have the same cycle duration and that duration of the flexor phase, but not of the extensor phase, is highly correlated with the cycle duration of the traveling waves. Furthermore, we found that the interneurons from the deep dorsal horn and the intermediate nucleus can generate the spinal traveling waves, even in the absence of motoneuronal activity. These findings show that the sinusoidal field potentials generated during fictive scratching could be a powerful tool to disclose the organization of central pattern generator networks.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fisiología Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Cuellar
authors.forename: Jesus A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tapia
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Juárez
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quevedo
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Linares
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manjarrez
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000818:Animals; D017763:Autonomic Denervation / Q000379:methods; D002415:Cats; D003655:Decerebrate State / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways; D010507:Periodicity; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*