Comparison of the effects of stimulating extensor group I afferents on cycle period during walking in conscious and decerebrate cats

Abstract Previous studies have reported that stimulation of group I afferents from extensor muscles prolongs stance duration during walking in decerebrate cats. The main objective of this investigation was to determine whether this phenomenon occurs during walking in conscious cats. In conscious cats without lesions of the central nervous system (CNS), stimulation of group I afferents in the lateral gastrocnemius/soleus (LGS) nerve during stance prolonged extensor burst duration and increased the cycle period in five of seven animals. The mean increases in cycle period were modest, ranging from 6 to 22%. In five of six animals that walked both quadrupedally and bipedally at the same rate, the effects on cycle period were stronger during bipedal stepping (18% mean increase in cycle period compared with 9%). The stimulated nerves were transected and the experimental procedure was usually delayed in the conscious animals for 2–3 days following implantation of the stimulating electrodes. To assess whether chronic axotomy of the LGS nerve was a factor in the decreased effectiveness, four of the cats with chronic nerve section were decerebrated and their LGS nerves were stimulated after the animals began to spontaneously walk on a motorized treadmill. In all four of these animals, the effects of stimulating the chronically cut LGS nerve on the step cycle period became stronger following decerebration. However, these effects were not as strong as those produced when an acutely sectioned LGS nerve was stimulated. During both quadrupedal and bipedal walking, stimulation of the LGS nerve increased the amplitude of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) electromyogram. The augmented activity of the MG muscle contributed to an increased extension of the ankle during stimulated steps. The conclusion from these experiments is that stimulation of the group I afferents in extensor nerves can prolong stance in the conscious cat, but this effect is weaker than in decerebrate animals. It is likely that transmission in the polysynaptic group I pathways controlling stance duration is regulated in a complex fashion by descending signals from the brain in the conscious animal.