Neural circuit mechanisms of rhythmic motor control

John Tuthill, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Neurobiology & Biophysics
University of Washington

All animal locomotion is rhythmic, whether it is achieved through undulatory movement of the whole body or the coordination of jointed limbs. Neurobiologists have long studied locomotor circuits that produce rhythmic activity with non-rhythmic input, also called central pattern generators (CPGs). However, the cellular and circuit implementation of a walking CPG has not been described for any limbed animal. New comprehensive connectomes of the fruit fly ventral nerve cord (VNC) provide an opportunity to study rhythmogenic walking circuits at a synaptic scale. We use a data-driven network modeling approach to identify and characterize a putative walking CPG circuit in the Drosophila leg motor system.