Fig. 5: Basal ganglia turning gait asymmetries act predominantly via PnO.
From: Basal ganglia–spinal cord pathway that commands locomotor gait asymmetries in mice
a, Strategies for GtACR2 transduction of a bulk Vgat+ SNr population, or specific populations of Vgat+ SNr → PnO or SNr → SC projection neurons. b, Examples of GtACR2 transduction and fiber placement using strategies in a. Vgat+ neurons labeled via retrograde transduction from PnO exhibited localization within a caudomedial domain, whereas Vgat+ neurons labeled via retrograde transduction from SC exhibited localization within a rostrolateral domain. Images are representative of n = 7 mice from 2 independent experiments for each condition. c, Optogenetic inhibition of SNr caused limb-based changes in body orientation, as well as contraction of the trunk musculature. Selective optogenetic inhibition of SNr → PnO projection neurons evoked a strong limb-based contralateral rotation of the body without a prominent effect on axial (head or trunk) posture. Selective optogenetic inhibition of SNr → SC projection neurons caused weak limb-based changes in body orientation, as well as contraction of the trunk musculature. d, Left, inhibition of a bulk Vgat+ SNr population. Body, **P = 0.0013; head, **P = 0.002; one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Center, selective inhibition of SNr → PnO projection neurons. Body, ***P = 1.8 × 10−4; head, P = 0.70; one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Right, selective inhibition of SNr → SC projection neurons. Body, **P = 0.0013; head, **P = 0.0056; one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. n = 7 mice from 2 independent experiments for each condition, where n is the average of 10 trials for each mouse. Error bands in the time series plots (top) represent the s.e.m. Box-and-whisker plots give the median, the 25th and 75th percentiles and the range.
