Skip to main content

Umbrella menu

  • SfN.org
  • eNeuro
  • The Journal of Neuroscience
  • Neuronline
  • BrainFacts.org

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Preparing a Manuscript
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Fees
    • Journal Club
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SfN.org
  • eNeuro
  • The Journal of Neuroscience
  • Neuronline
  • BrainFacts.org

User menu

  • Log out
  • Log in
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log out
  • Log in
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Preparing a Manuscript
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Fees
    • Journal Club
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Articles

The direction change concept for reticulospinal control of goldfish escape

MB Foreman and RC Eaton
Journal of Neuroscience 1 October 1993, 13 (10) 4101-4113; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.13-10-04101.1993
MB Foreman
Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder 80309–0334.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
RC Eaton
Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder 80309–0334.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

This is an analysis of whether biomechanical or kinematic variables are controlled by descending reticulospinal commands to the spinal cord during escape responses (C-starts) in the goldfish. We studied how the animal contracted its trunk musculature to orient an escape trajectory. We used trunk EMG recordings as a measure of the reticulospinal output to the musculature and we simultaneously gathered high-speed cinematic records of the resulting movements. We found that the escape trajectory is controlled by (1) the relative size of the agonist versus the antagonist muscle contractions on two sides of the body and (2) the timing between these contractions. We found no separate signal for forward propulsion (or force) apart from the initial stage 1 bending of the body. Rather, the neural specification of force is embedded in the commands to bend the body. Thus, our findings demonstrate the importance of the angular kinematic components, or direction changes, caused by the descending reticulospinal command. This new direction change concept is important for two reasons. First, it unifies the diversity of C-start movement patterns into a single and rather simple quantitative model. Second, the model is analogous to the systematic EMG and kinematic changes observed by others to underlie single joint movements of limbs in other vertebrates such as primates. As in these cases, the fish capitalizes on the mechanical properties of the muscle by setting the extent and timing of agonist and antagonist contractions. This, plus the fact that sensory feedback is likely to be minimal, may enable the animal to reduce the number of computational steps in its motor commands used to produce the escape response. Because horizontal body movements in fish are a fundamental vertebrate movement pattern produced by a highly conserved brainstem movement system, our findings may have general implications for understanding the neural basis of rapid movements of diverse body parts.

Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 13 (10)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 13, Issue 10
1 Oct 1993
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The direction change concept for reticulospinal control of goldfish escape
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
The direction change concept for reticulospinal control of goldfish escape
MB Foreman, RC Eaton
Journal of Neuroscience 1 October 1993, 13 (10) 4101-4113; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.13-10-04101.1993

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
The direction change concept for reticulospinal control of goldfish escape
MB Foreman, RC Eaton
Journal of Neuroscience 1 October 1993, 13 (10) 4101-4113; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.13-10-04101.1993
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Choice Behavior Guided by Learned, But Not Innate, Taste Aversion Recruits the Orbitofrontal Cortex
  • Maturation of Spontaneous Firing Properties after Hearing Onset in Rat Auditory Nerve Fibers: Spontaneous Rates, Refractoriness, and Interfiber Correlations
  • Insulin Treatment Prevents Neuroinflammation and Neuronal Injury with Restored Neurobehavioral Function in Models of HIV/AIDS Neurodegeneration
Show more Articles
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Feedback
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2021 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.