A study led by researchers at NOVA Medical School has revealed that a specific class of sensory neurons is capable of inducing movements in immobile animals independently of the brain.
The research, published in Current Biology, shows that, although uncoordinated, the motor response induced by these neurons is rapid, allowing the animals to respond immediately to a mechanical stimulus.
This discovery highlights the importance of the sensory system for the functioning of an organism that uses locomotion as a means to move and the mechanisms by which this sensory information is integrated into the nervous system.
In addition, it also makes it possible to understand how sensory stimulation contributes to the repair of motor circuits in situations of injury, something typically applied in physiotherapy.
Now, the researchers are trying to determine in detail the underlying neuronal mechanisms, understand how the brain interprets sensory information and develop injury models that can be modulated by sensory stimulation.
The study “Mechanosensory bristles mediate avoidance behavior by triggering sustained local motor activity in Drosophila melanogaster” had the participation of iNOVA4Health researchers from NOVA Medical School Alexandra M. Medeiros, Anna F. Hobbiss, Gonçalo Borges, César S. Mendes, and, from Champalimaud Research, Marta Moita.