Forelimb movements contribute to hindlimb cutaneous reflexes during locomotion in cats
Jonathan Harnie, Rasha Al Arab, Stephen Mari, Sirine Yassine, Oussama Eddaoui, Pierre Jéhannin, Johannie Audet, Charly G. Lecomte, Christian Iorio‐Morin, Boris I. Prilutsky, Ilya A. Rybak, Alain Frigon
Abstract
During quadrupedal locomotion, the coordination of forelimb and hindlimb movements involves central circuits and somatosensory feedback. To demonstrate how forelimb movement affects hindlimb cutaneous reflexes during locomotion, we stimulated the superficial peroneal nerve in intact cats during quadrupedal and hindlimb-only locomotion as well as in spinal-transected cats during hindlimb-only locomotion. We show that forelimb movement influences the modulation of hindlimb cutaneous reflexes, particularly the occurrence of long-latency reflex responses.