Kyle Thomas
BME PhD Proposal Presentation

Date: 2022-11-08
Time: 9AM - 11AM EST
Location / Meeting Link: RRC 1052 / https://emory.zoom.us/j/4531439090

Committee Members:
Sam Sober, PhD (Advisor); Megan Carey, PhD; Lena Ting, PhD; Tim Cope, PhD; Chethan Pandarinath, PhD


Title: Motor unit coordination in mouse locomotion

Abstract:
A fundamental goal of neuroscience is to understand how the brain flexibly controls motor behaviors that require whole-body coordination. Locomotion, for example, requires spatial and temporal control of limb movements through changing environments. To flexibly switch motor strategies across contexts, the underlying motor unit coordination may change to meet the demands of the task. Motor units, consisting of a spinal motor neuron and all its innervated muscle fibers, are the final output of the central nervous system (CNS). We aim to explore how coordination in muscle commands, at the scale of motor unit spike patterns, contributes to the control of locomotion across different speeds (Aim 1) and for both acute and chronic perturbations (Aim 2). This coordination, consisting of various forms of co-activation across units, may reflect spatial and temporal scales of control within and across muscles. Using novel electrodes to capture single motor units, we will record the activity from multiple muscles in mouse forelimbs during head-free locomotion while simultaneously tracking 3D movements from the mouse. Analyses will focus on how coordination in spike patterns changes in relation to the behavior.