Authors:

Akash Murali

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About Paper:

Proprioception is the perception of body and limb position and is required for all aspects of daily life. Proprioceptive signals are mediated by proprioceptors, a subclass of dorsal root ganglion(DRG) neurons. Proprioceptors make monosynaptic connections with motoneurons and underly the well- characterized knee-jerk reflex. Experimental data indicates that during  early postnatal development, proprioceptive synaptic inputs onto motoneurons are refined within the first two weeks of life via activity-dependent synaptic pruning. Microglia are critical for synaptic pruning throughout the nervous system; however, whether they are involved in the refinement of proprioceptive inputs onto motoneurons remains unclear. This study investigates whether microglia contribute to pruning excessive proprioceptive synapses during early postnatal development. Using quantitative immunohistochemistry, we labeled microglia with antibodies against IBA-1 to quantify their numbers in the motor nuclei at postnatal ages: P5, P9, P12. With these experiments, our goal is to determine if there is any upregulation of microglia in line with the developmental trajectory of proprioceptive synaptic refinement. It has been shown that in spinal muscular atrophy, vulnerable proprioceptive synapses onto motoneurons are eliminated in a microglia-dependent manner. This study provides new insights into mechanisms underlying motor system development and has broader implications for neurodevelopmental disorders affecting motor function. Expected Target-Distractor Similarity Impacts the Precision of the Target Template and Visual Search Strategy Rohini Murali

Source:

UC Davis / MED: Physiology & Membrane Biol / 2025

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Co-authors:

Akash Murali