Entrainment of the spinal pattern generators for swimming by mechano-sensitive elements in the lamprey spinal cord in vitro.

Imposed sinusoidal bending of a mobile region of the curarized spinal cord/notochord preparation of the lamprey results in phase-locking (i.e. 'entrainment') of the 'fictive swimming' motor pattern (recording in ventral roots) to the bending movements. This entrainment phenomenon occurs both with intact ventral and dorsal roots and with all roots cut (i.e. a completely isolated spinal cord). It is proposed that mechano-sensitive elements within the spinal cord contribute in part to the entrainment.