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Journal of Experimental Biology 78,245-253 (1979)
Published by Company of Biologists 1979

Interlimb Coordination During Slow Walking in the Cockroach : II. Effects of Cutting Thoracic Connectives

SHARON I. GREENE ¹ and CARL P. SPIRITO ¹

¹ Department of Biology, University of Virginia and Department of Zoology and Microbiology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, U.S.A.

This paper examines changes in interlimb coordination resulting from lesions in the CNS during tethered, ball-walking in the cockroach. After a single connective was cut, between either the first and second or second and third thoracic ganglia, there were shifts in the mean interlimb coordination between legs as a function of time after surgery. During the first day, the mean coordination between legs bordering the cut was altered and contralateral phase changed greatly posterior to the lesion. From 1 to 10 days post-op, the relationship between all leg pairs changed unpredictably, and phase became variable. In general, the gait stabilized between 20 and 36 days after an operation. The new pattern of walking was significantly different from both that of normal individuals and that seen one day after surgery. At 36 days the legs adjacent to the cut remained relatively uncoordinated, and there were distinct changes in the mean coordination of other leg pairs. These results suggest that a neural reorganization of the locomotor system takes place after surgery.