Fig. 1: Brainstem Chx10 Gi neurons encode turning gait asymmetries.
From: Basal ganglia–spinal cord pathway that commands locomotor gait asymmetries in mice
a, Schematic of Chx10 Gileft GCaMP recording. Example endoscopic Ca2+ imaging field of view (inverted maximum ΔF/F projection). b, Example ΔF/F traces from cells in a with concurrent tracking of body angular velocity. c, Top, cross-correlation between body angular velocity and the derivative of Chx10 Gileft ΔF/F activity obtained from endoscopic imaging (E.i.; n = 5 neurons from 4 mice from 3 independent experiments). Bottom, cross-correlation between body angular velocity and the derivative of Chx10 Gileft ΔF/F activity obtained using fiber photometry (F.p.; n = 14 mice from 4 independent experiments). A negative time lag indicates that the derivative of the ΔF/F signal leads the angular velocity signal. Dashed red lines represent bounds for significant correlation. d,e, Spontaneous left turns, straight events or right turns were segmented from angular velocity time series. Left turns were associated with an increase in Chx10 Gileft activity, whereas straight events and right turns were associated with a decrease in Chx10 Gileft activity. Endoscopic imaging: n = 5 neurons from 4 mice, 20 left turns, 20 straight events and 20 right turns for each mouse (d). Fiber photometry: n = 14 mice, 10 left turns, 10 straight events and 10 right turns for each mouse (e). Red denotes a positive angular velocity (left turn) or Z-score. Blue signifies a negative angular velocity (right turn) or Z-score. Error bands in c–e represent the s.e.m. f, Top, change in direction associated with spontaneous left turns, straight events or right turns segmented from angular velocity time series. Bottom, change in Chx10 Gileft ΔF/F activity associated with spontaneous left turns, straight events or right turns. Endoscopic imaging: n = 5 neurons from 4 mice from 3 independent experiments. Fiber photometry: n = 14 mice from 4 independent experiments. Violin plots give the median, the 25th and 75th percentiles and the range. See Supplementary Table 1 for full statistical analysis. g, Model for Chx10 Gi activity during spontaneous changes in locomotor direction. Spontaneous left turns are associated with both an increase in Chx10 Gileft activity and a decrease in Chx10 Giright activity.
