Newswise, 'Walking on Ice Takes More Than Brains - Salk scientists discover how a 'mini-brain' in the spinal cord aids in balance', http://www.newswise.com/articles/walking-on-ice-takes-more-than-brains2, Salk Institute for Biological Studies (29-Jan-2015).
Mini-brain
New discovery suggests that much of the balancing act that our bodies perform when faced with such a task happens unconsciously, thanks to a cluster of neurons in our spinal cord that function as a 'mini-brain'.
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The study, conducted in mice, provides the first detailed blueprint for a spinal circuit that serves as control center for integrating motor commands from the brain with sensory information from the limbs.
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If you stand on a slippery surface for a long time, you'll notice your calf muscles get stiff, but you may not have noticed you were using them. Your body is on autopilot, constantly making subtle corrections while freeing you to attend to other higher-level tasks.
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The team's study represents the beginning of a new wave of research that promises to provide precise and comprehensive explanations for how the nervous system encodes and integrates sensory information to generate both conscious and unconscious movement.
Link
Newswise, 'Walking on Ice Takes More Than Brains - Salk scientists discover how a 'mini-brain' in the spinal cord aids in balance', http://www.newswise.com/articles/walking-on-ice-takes-more-than-brains2, Salk Institute for Biological Studies (29-Jan-2015).
