Neurons, Circuitry, and Plasticity in the Spinal Cord and Brainstem, Volume 1279

The brain and the spinal cord, together, compose the central nervous system.  Only relatively recently has research shifted focus to consider the integral functions at the individual neuronal and network levels that are mediated by the spinal cord. In this volume, recent work is presented addressing developments in this emerging area.  Short reviews examine motor neuron synaptic plasticity, molecular signaling in motor circuits, advances in in vivo and in vitro imaging of spinal cord injury, inhibitory and excitatory locomotor programs, and mapping the circuitry of tactile and sensory functions, including nociception and pain relief. Collectively, these papers provide an overview of some of the most exciting topics in spinal cord research—spanning basic cellular mechanisms to translational approaches. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.1111/(ISSN)1749-6632. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.

Molecular, genetic, cellular, and network functions in the spinal cord and brainstem 1 Paul S. G. Stein Neurotransmitters and synaptic components in the Merkel cell-neurite complex, a gentle-touch receptor 13 Srdjan Maksimovic, Yoshichika Baba and Ellen A. Lumpkin Principles of interneuron development learned from Renshaw cells and the motoneuron recurrent inhibitory circuit 22  Francisco J. Alvarez, Ana Benito-Gonzalez and Valerie C. Siembab Dorsally derived spinal interneurons in locomotor circuits 32  Anna Vallstedt and Klas Kullander Neuronal correlates of the dominant role of GABAergic transmission in the developing mouse locomotor circuitry 43  Lea Ziskind-Conhaim GluA1 promotes the activity-dependent development of motor circuitry in the developing segmental spinal cord 54 Angela M. Jablonski and Robert G. Kalb Optical imaging of the spontaneous depolarization wave in the mouse embryo: origins and pharmacological nature 60 Yoko Momose-Sato and Katsushige Sato Imaging spinal neuron ensembles active during locomotion with genetically encoded calcium indicators 71 Christopher A. Hinckley and Samuel L. Pfaff Glutamatergic reticulospinal neurons in the mouse: developmental origins, axon projections, and functional connectivity 80  Marie-Claude Perreault and Joel G. Glover Pre- and postsynaptic inhibitory control in the spinal cord dorsal horn 90  Rita Bardoni, Tomonori Takazawa, Chi-Kun Tong, Papiya Choudhury, Gregory Scherrer and Amy B. MacDermott Activity-dependent development of tactile and nociceptive spinal cord circuits 97 Stephanie C. Koch and Maria Fitzgerald Force-sensitive afferents recruited during stance encode sensory depression in the contralateral swinging limb during locomotion 103  Shawn Hochman, Heather Brant Hayes, Iris Speigel and Young-Hui Chang Motor primitives and synergies in the spinal cord and after injury—the current state of play 114  Simon F. Giszter and Corey B. Hart A dual spinal cord lesion paradigm to study spinal locomotor plasticity in the cat 127  Marina Martinez and Serge Rossignol The effects of endocannabinoid signaling on network activity in developing and motor circuits 135 Peter Wenner Hypoxia-induced phrenic long-term facilitation: emergent properties 143 Michael J. Devinney, Adrianne G. Huxtable, Nicole L. Nichols and Gordon S. Mitchell Axon regeneration and exercise-dependent plasticity after spinal cord injury 154 John D. Houle and Marie-Pascale Côté Accelerating locomotor recovery after incomplete spinal injury 164 Brian K. Hillen, James J. Abbas and Ranu Jung