The Neural Control of Movement: Model Systems and Tools to Study Locomotor Function

From speech to breathing to overt movement contractions of muscles are the only way other than sweating whereby we literally make a mark on the world. Locomotion is an essential part of this equation and exciting new developments are shedding light on the mechanisms underlying how this important behavior occurs.

The Neural Control of Movement discusses these developments across a variety of species including man. The editors focus on highlighting the utility of different models from invertebrates to vertebrates. Each chapter discusses how new approaches in neuroscience are being used to dissect and control neural networks. An area of emphasis is on vertebrate motor networks and particularly the spinal cord. The spinal cord is unique because it has seen the use of genetic tools allowing the dissection of networks for over ten years. This book provides practical details on model systems, approaches, and analysis approaches related to movement control. This book is written for neuroscientists interested in movement control.

• Provides practice details on model systems, approaches, and analysis approaches related to movement control
• Discusses how recent advances like optogenetics and chemogenetics affect the need for model systems to be modified (or not) to work for studies of movement and motor control
• Written for neuroscientists interested in movement control, especially movement disorders like Parkinson’s, MS, spinal cord injury, and stroke

Dr. Whelan is an established investigator with over 25 years experience in the control of locomotion. He received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta in 1996 and completed his postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Maryland before joining the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary in 2000. He joined the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2005 and is currently jointly appointed in the Faculty of Medicine. He is currently a member of the Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine (FVM), Department of Physiology and Biophysics (Faculty of Medicine) and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (Faculty of Medicine). Dr. Whelan is currently a co-leader of the Spinal Cord and Nerve Regeneration Group within the Hotchkiss Brain Institute.

Dr. Simon Sharples is a Royal Society Newton International Fellow at the University of St. Andrews. He obtained undergraduate (2010) and masters (2012) degrees in kinesiology from Wilfrid Laurier University (2012) and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Calgary in 2018. Dr. Sharples has worked with human and animal models to understand plasticity in motor systems during early life, into adulthood and disease.