Role of spinal circuits in Motor control

A motor act in mammals is successful when motoneuronal output is carefully modulated and refined to suit the demand of the biomechanical apparatus of the organism. This is achieved by assimilation of sensory feedback from periphery and the descending control commands from the brain and other higher structures. These interactions occur within the spinal segments on common interneurones.

Using in-vivo techniques we are interested in elucidating
1. Where and how these pathways interact;
2. Plasticity within these pathways in normal, during development or disease states of the animal; and finally;
3. Use the organisational information towards developing better therapies.

We use three different strategies to achieve this. 1. Electrophysiology: extracellular and intracellular recordings from the CNS.
2. Immunocytochemistry: identifying neuronal subtypes associated with these pathways
3. Computation or mathematical modelling to develop tools to assist us predict the experimental or therapeutic outcomes.