ARL-CR-0783 ● SEP 2015

US Army Research Laboratory

Optogenetic Activation of the Sublaterodorsal 

(SLD) Nucleus Induces Rapid Muscle Inhibition

prepared by Cameron H Good

ORISE

4502 Darlington St, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Thomas Jhou and Nathan Burnham

Medical University of South Carolina

70 President St, Charleston, South Carolina

under contract 1120-1120-99

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
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ARL-CR-0783 ● SEP 2015

US Army Research Laboratory

Optogenetic Activation of the Sublaterodorsal 

(SLD) Nucleus Induces Rapid Muscle Inhibition

prepared by Cameron H Good

ORISE

4502 Darlington St, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Thomas Jhou and Nathan Burnham

Medical University of South Carolina

70 President St, Charleston, South Carolina

under contract 1120-1120-99

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (delete if not FOUO)
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Optogenetic Activation of the Sublaterodorsal (SLD) Nucleus Induces Rapid 

Muscle Inhibition

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Cameron H Good, Thomas Jhou, and Nathan Burnham

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14. ABSTRACT

The sublaterodorsal (SLD) nucleus is hypothesized to induce muscle atonia during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This 

was tested by injecting channelrhodopsin into the SLD of 5 rats, followed by a series of behavioral tests. Results confirmed 

our ability to rapidly induce muscle atonia following optogenetic stimulation of the SLD, suggesting that activation of the 

SLD is sufficient to cause a REM atonia like state. 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

optogenetic, sublaterodorsal nucleus, atonia, sleep

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Cameron H Good

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Contents

List of Figures iv

Acknowledgments v

1. Introduction 1

2. Methods 2

3. Results 5

3.1 Rapid Induction of Muscle Atonia Following SLD Activation 6

3.2 Cessation of an Ongoing Motivated Behavior 7

3.3 Histological Identification of AAV Injections and Fiber-Optic 

Placement 9

4. Discussion 10

5. References 12

List of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Acronyms 14

Distribution List 15
iv

List of Figures

Fig. 1 Surgical procedure, as shown while the rat is anesthetized and headrestrained in the stereotaxic frame. ........................................................3

Fig. 2 Optogenetic stimulation paradigms .......................................................4

Fig. 3 EMG activity is dramatically reduced during laser-on trial periods, 

indicative of muscle atonia ....................................................................6

Fig. 4 EEG activity is not impacted during laser-on trial periods (rat CG4) ...6

Fig. 5 Motivational lever pressing for food pellets is interrupted by activation 

of the SLD..............................................................................................8

Fig. 6 Histological verification of AAV injection location..............................9
v

Acknowledgments

Dr Cameron Good was sponsored by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL)

Weapons and Materials Research Directorate (WMRD) under the mentorship of 

Dr Müge Fermen-Coker per the Cooperative Agreement 1120-1120-99. The views 

and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not 

be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of 

ARL or the US Government. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and 

distribute reprints for Government purposes notwithstanding any copyright 

notation herein.
vi

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
1

1. Introduction

Sleep occurs in virtually all animals, and is essential for normal brain function, but 

its underlying mechanisms and functions are surprisingly poorly understood. For 

example, the ultimate purpose of sleep, and the mechanisms driving it, are almost 

completely unknown despite intensive efforts over many decades. The transition 

between waking and sleep, and non-rapid eye movement to rapid eye movement 

(NREM/REM) sleep, involves rapid state changes that are physiologically distinct 

in their impact on sensory perception, muscle tone and neural activity, as measured 

with electroencephalography (EEG). One of the hallmarks of rapid eye movement 

(REM) sleep is muscle inhibition and is generally referred to as muscle atonia to 

describe the loss of muscle tone. REM sleep atonia is a consequence of gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine inhibition of spinal motor neurons that 

results in a paralysis like state of nearly all peripheral muscles (except respiratory 

and oculomotor).1,2 The neural circuitry that drives atonia is thought to originate in 

the pontine reticular activating system, while injections of cholinergic agonists (i.e.,

carbachol and neostigmine) in the brainstem of awake cats and rats can rapidly 

induce a REM sleep-like state complete with muscle atonia.3–10 The most 

efficacious location for these injections is a region termed the dorsal part of the 

pontis oralis (PnO) and pontis caudalis (PnC), also named the peri-locus coeruleus 

α (peri-LCα) in cat, and the equivalent structures in rodents named the 

sublaterodorsal (SLD) nucleus or dorsal subcoeruleus (SubCD). Disinhibition of 

the SLD with injections of bicuculline or gabazine (GABAA antagonists) induces a 

REM-like state characterized by muscle atonia, EEG activation and nonreactivity 

to surrounding stimuli,11 while similar results are found when the peri-LCα is

activated by the specific glutamate agonist kainate.11,12 Lesioning the ventral SLD 

with ibotenic acid caused loss of atonia in almost every REM sleep episode,13,14

analogous to humans with localized brainstem infarcts of this region.15 Together, 

these results confirm the SLD as necessary for REM sleep atonia, thus making it an 

ideal target for exploration. 

Interestingly, SLD regulation of the different components of REM sleep may be 

neuroanatomically dissociable. Ventrally located SLD (vSLD) glutamate neurons 

drive atonia via projections to the gigantocellular nucleus (Gi), while dorsal SLD 

cells regulate cortical EEG theta rhythms through relay nuclei, including 

projections to the medial septum (MS).14,16 Thus, it may be possible to activate the 

vSLD atonia circuitry without impacting cognition. Alternatively, it could be 

possible to activate the entire structure to turn on both the cognitive and motor 

components of REM sleep. To date no one has attempted to optogenetically 

manipulate the SLD, making it a prime experimental target for exploring rapid 
2

changes in cognition and atonia. Such optogenetic approaches would show direct

causal linkages on a much faster time scale than the prior studies previously cited 

that relied on pharmaceuticals to induce REM sleep. Building on this known 

literature, we have generated pilot data showing that we can rapidly induce atonia 

by optogenetically stimulating the SLD region (see Section 3 for details). 

Interestingly, we were able to produce this effect without an apparent increase in 

cortical EEG theta; this is likely to be the first demonstration of such a clear 

dissociation of these 2 components of REM sleep. 

2. Methods

Animals: Six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (275–350 g, Charles River 

Laboratories, Raleigh, North Carolina) were used for these experiments. All 

Protocols were conducted under National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidelines 

using the NIH handbook “Animals in Research” and were approved by the Animal 

Care and Use Committee at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). 

Surgery: Rats were initially anesthetized with 5% isoflurane/95% oxygen. During 

this time their heads were shaved and placed in stereotactic ear bars. Once the 

animals were secured in place, the isoflurane was gradually titrated back to a 

maintenance level of 1.5%. All animals received bilateral SLD injections of 

400 μL of adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype 2/2 containing channelrhodopsin 

(AAV-CAG-ChR2-GFP) under control of the ubiquitous CMV early 

enhancer/chicken beta actin (CAG) promoter (UNC Vector Core, Chapel Hill, 

North Carolina). Stereotactic coordinates were measured from bregma and were 

based on a 15° head-down tilt and 10° lateral approach toward midline to avoid the 

transverse sinus: AP -11.0, DV -6.7, ML +2.2. During the same surgery, rats 

received bilateral implants of optical fibers (50-μm core, numerical aperture 0.37, 

Thor Labs), with the fiber tip terminating at one end above the SLD, and the 

exposed end of the fiber terminating in a metal 2-mm-diameter ferrule (Precision 

Fiber Products, Inc., Milpitas, California) that was cemented in place. This allowed 

a light source to be attached at the time of experiment. Four EEG screws were also 

inserted into the anterior skull of each animal (Fig. 1A). These were inserted in a 

rectangular pattern 2-mm lateral from midline and 2-mm anterior, and 3-mm 

posterior, from bregma. Two electromyography (EMG) electrodes were inserted 

under the skin of the neck and above the nuchal muscles. EEG and EMG electrode 

terminals were inserted into a recording adapter and cemented in place using black 

acrylic cement (Fig. 1B). 
3

Fig. 1 Surgical procedure, as shown while the rat is anesthetized and head-restrained in the 

stereotaxic frame

Figure 1A:

1) Four EEG screws were inserted into the anterior skull to record brain 

activity.

2) Two EMG electrodes were embedded under the skin and above the neck 

muscles.

3) Two holes were drilled above the SLD and 400 nL of AAVchannelrhodopsin (ChR2) was injected bilaterally.

Figure 1B:

4) EEG and EMG electrode terminals were inserted into a physiological 

recording adapter and cemented into using black acrylic place.

5) 50-μm optical fibers were inserted through the same holes as viral injection 

(see item above 3) and terminated above the SLD. Fiber couplers were 

cemented in place with black acrylic. 

Experimental design: After approximately 25 days of recovery the animals were 

placed in an operant chamber and allowed to freely move around the enclosure. Just 

prior to the start of each experimental trial, 2 fiber optic cables were mated to the 2 

exposed ferrules using zirconia sleeves (Precision Fiber Products, Inc.) and the 

EEG and EMG leads were connected. These were then attached to an electro/optical 

commutator that allowed free rotation of the rats while simultaneously recording 

EEG and EMG signals and delivering optical stimulation.

Computer-controlled optogenetic lasers delivered 40-Hz pulses of blue light 

(447 nm) following 3 Protocols (Fig. 2A–C). Protocol No. 1 consisted of 16 laser
4

cycles of 1 min off/1 min on. Protocol No.2 consisted of 3.5 laser cycles of 5 min 

off/5 min on. Animals that showed no obvious change in locomotion during laseron periods were excluded from further study. Non-excluded rats were run through 

both Protocols, beginning with No. 1.

Fig. 2 Optogenetic stimulation paradigms

Blue lines and steps denote laser-on periods. 

Figure 2A:

Protocol No. 1: Laser (40 Hz) 1 min off/1 min on (16 cycles). This paradigm was 

chosen to test the kinetics of SLD activation (i.e., rapid onset and offset), as well as 

the reliability and reproducibility of the effect. 

Figure 2B:

Protocol No. 2: Laser (40 Hz) 5 min off/5 min on (3.5 cycles). This was chosen to 

test the impact of prolonged activation of the SLD and whether the effect could be 

sustained. 

Figure 2C:

Protocol No. 3: Lever press for food, a test of motivation. Animals were trained to 

lever press for food inside of a conditioning box (left image). Levers are shown in 

the image on the right, as is the center food tray where the pellets are delivered. The 

blue-light laser was turned on for 1 min (6 trials) in an attempt to interrupt an 

ongoing trained, motivated behavior. 
5

To test if activation of the SLD is sufficient to stop a motivated behavior, 3 rats 

were trained to lever-press for food pellets (Fig. 2C). These rats were food restricted 

to approximately 85% of their initial body weight by first reducing food intake to 

1 pellet daily for 3 to 4 days, until the target weight was reached, after which 

additional food was given in order to maintain this weight for the remainder of the 

experiment. Rats were placed in a conditioning box and trained to press the left 

lever ad libitum for food pellet delivery (45 mg, BioServ). These training exercises 

consisted of 1 to 2 sessions per day, with 100 trials per session. Rats were judged 

to have reached criterion when they achieved 90% accuracy in any 20-trial block 

(i.e., no longer pressed the right control lever), a criterion met (and usually 

exceeded) by all rats in 4–8 sessions (i.e., 400–800 trials). Individual lever-presses 

were time-stamped and saved to a desktop computer for offline analysis. During 

the experimental phase, animals were connected to the laser and EEG and EMG 

recording adapter. Similar to the 2 Protocols previously described, optogenetic 

activation of the SLD was achieved by delivering 40-Hz pulses of blue light 

(447 nm) for 1 min with a 3-min inter-trial interval. Lever-press counts were made 

before, during and after laser stimulation to gauge the ability of the laser excitation 

to stop a trained, motivated behavior. All results are presented as mean plus or 

minus standard error. 

Histology: Subsequent histological analysis was used to verify AAV injection 

location and fiber optic placement. Briefly, the rats were transcardially perfused 

with 10% formalin (100 mL over 5 min), followed by 10% formalin with 15% 

sucrose, for cryoprotection. Brains were sectioned at 40 μm and tissue stained for 

Nissl and green fluorescent protein (GFP) as described previously.17

Signal processing: Analysis of electrophysiological data (Offline Sorter, 

Neuroexplorer), and general data analysis (MATLAB) were performed using 

custom scripts.

3. Results

Despite over 50 years of REM sleep research, this report is the first to demonstrate 

that specific activation of SLD neurons is sufficient to rapidly induce REM atonia. 

For this purpose, we injected into the SLD an AAV expressing ChR2, thus making 

neurons in this vicinity excitable by blue laser light (447 nm) delivered through an 

optical fiber also aimed at the SLD. Use of ChR2 allowed us to selectively activate 

the neurons of interest without the confound of stimulating fibers of passage (e.g.,

electrical stimulation) or nonspecific neural activation (e.g., electrical stimulation 

and pharmaceuticals). 
6

3.1 Rapid Induction of Muscle Atonia Following SLD Activation

Of the 6 animals that initially underwent surgery, 5 made it to the experimental 

stage, while the sixth rat dislodged the implanted optical fibers and was euthanized. 

In the remaining 5 rats, 3 (60%) showed varying degrees of behavioral effects 

following SLD stimulation at 20-mW peak laser strength, with 1 animal (CG4) 

showing pronounced atonia immediately following laser-onset (<1 s) at light 

intensities as low as 6 mW (Fig. 3). The 2 rats that showed no effect had misplaced 

AAV-ChR2 injections and/or fiber optic implants (as confirmed via histology), 

which prevented us from inducing atonia in these animals. 

Fig. 3 EMG activity is dramatically reduced during laser-on trial periods, indicative of 

muscle atonia 

Interestingly, this rapid decrease in muscle activity was not accompanied by 

changes in EEG frequency or amplitude, as illustrated in Fig. 4A and 4B. Possible 

explanations for this discrepancy are included in the following discussion.

Fig. 4 EEG activity is not impacted during laser-on trial periods (rat CG4)

Figure 4A:

EEG and EMG activity are shown both before and during laser-on periods. While 

there is a rapid reduction in EMG amplitude, neither EEG channels show changes 

in activity. 
7

Figure 4B:

Expanded view of EEG channel No. 2 to highlight continuity of signal. 

3.2 Cessation of an Ongoing Motivated Behavior

Following our successful demonstration of a rapid inhibition in peripheral muscle 

activity, we next asked whether this muscle atonia was sufficient to immediately 

stop a motivated, trained behavior. For these experiments we trained the 3 

responding rats to press the left lever in a conditioned chamber to receive food 

pellets ad libitum (see Section 2). Since the animals were initially food restricted to 

reduce body weight, the animals were highly motivated to perform this activity to 

receive additional volumes of food. Once trained, the animals pressed the lever at 

a near-ceiling rate of 8.5 ± 0.48 presses/15 s. This equates to an average interval of 

1.76 s in between presses and encompasses the time it takes the animal to move to 

the food tray, quickly eat the food pellet and return to the lever to press again for 

another pellet delivery. At regularly spaced intervals, the laser was turned on using 

the same 40-Hz stimulation paradigm (Fig. 5A). 

Optogenetic activation of the SLD resulted in an immediate cessation of leverpressing in 2 out of 3 rats (CG3 and CG4), with the other rat (CG1) showing a 

reduction (but not complete cessation) in pressing during the laser-on condition. 

Results from CG3 are illustrated in Fig. 5A, with vertical green tick marks 

representing individual lever-presses. Note the rapid cessation of lever-pressing 

following the rapid induction of muscle atonia. The animal was able to continue 

pressing toward the end of the trials, albeit at a much reduced rate. This likely 

represents incomplete activation of the SLD, which will be discussed in detail in 

the following. Results from our exemplar rat (CG4) are summarized in Fig. 5B. 

Average lever press counts from 6 trials are shown in 15-s bins for the 2-min 

baseline period, 1-min laser-on condition (as denoted by the blue line) and 

the 1-min recovery period after stimulation was stopped. From this figure, it is clear 

that activation of the SLD is sufficient to immediately, and completely, cease an 

ongoing motivated behavior. Interestingly, following the termination of the laser, 

it took over 1 min for the animal to return to baseline lever pressing rates. This is 

suggestive of a lingering inhibition that reduces the animals’ activity even in the 

absence of direct stimulation. The average lever pressing rate from the 3 animals, 

averaged over 6 trials each, is shown in Fig. 5C. The 60-s laser-on condition 

resulted in a significant reduction in lever press counts (2-way ANOVA, 

p < 0.0001), as compared to both the 60 s time periods before and after stimulation 

(baseline = 34 ± 1.94; laser = 10.67 ± 2.76; recovery = 30 ± 1.87). 
8

Results from these experiments demonstrate the robust impact we can have over an 

animals’ behavior by optogenetically activating the SLD to induce a REM atonialike state. Not only were we able to stop the rat’s natural exploratory behavior in a 

freely moving environment, but we were also able to immediately stop an ongoing 

motivated behavior using this approach. 

Fig. 5 Motivational lever pressing for food pellets is interrupted by activation of the SLD

Figure 5A:

Individual lever presses from rat CG3 are shown for 4 consecutive trials. The time 

of each 40-Hz stimulation trial is denoted by a blue bar. Note that the animal only 

made 2 “mistakes” by pressing the right lever, which does not result in food pellet 

delivery. 

Figure 5B:

Average lever presses (rat CG4, 6 trials) are shown in consecutive 15-s bins for 

2 min of baseline recording, 1-min stimulation and 1.25-min post-stimulation 

recovery. Activating the SLD completely abolished lever pressing in this animal.

Figure 5C:

Mean and standard deviation of lever presses from the 3 rats that responded to SLD 

activation by a decrease in muscle activity. Data are binned the same as in Fig. 5B.
9

3.3 Histological Identification of AAV Injections and Fiber-Optic 

Placement

Following the completion of the behavioral experiments, all animals were 

euthanized in order to perform histological analysis of the AAV injection locations 

and fiber-optic implantations. This information was then used to correlate the 

behavioral effects described above with anatomy. The anatomical location and 

spread of the AAV-ChR2 injection from our exemplar experimental rat (CG4) is 

illustrated by the black staining in Fig. 6A. The approximate location of the SLD is 

shown using red ovals (Fig. 6A and 6B). Based on this illustration, it appears that 

the left injection was dorsal to the target and likely outside the boundary of the 

SLD, while the fiber optic terminated too ventral. This is in contrast to the right 

injection that perfectly encompassed the SLD and surrounding regions. In rat CG3, 

the left injection was consistent with the boundary of the SLD, while the right side 

was located more ventral (Fig. 6B). This internal heterogeneity illustrates the 

difficulty of reliably hitting such a small brainstem structure without the advantage 

of genetically driven biomarkers. While the use of ChR2 allowed us to selectively 

activate the neurons of interest without the confound of stimulating fibers of 

passage or nonspecific neural activation (e.g., electrical stimulation and 

pharmaceuticals), we still need a better way to isolate these cells from surrounding 

structures. Thus, future experiments will look for biomarkers of these cells that 

could be used to drive AAV-ChR2 expression.

Fig. 6 Histological verification of AAV injection location

Figure 6A:

A coronal brain section from rat CG4: The blue Nissl stain highlights neuronal cell 

bodies, while the darker black is an anti-GFP stain to determine viral spread 

following AAV injection. Red ovals denote the approximate boundary of the SLD.

A. B.
10

Figure 6B:

The coronal brain section from rat CG3: The blue Nissl stain highlights neuronal 

cell bodies, while the darker black is an anti-GFP stain to determine viral spread 

following AAV injection. Red ovals denote the approximate boundary of the SLD.

4. Discussion

The preliminary results presented here are the first to demonstrate such rapid and 

repeatable loss of muscle tone following optogenetic stimulation of the SLD. These 

data underscore the powerful influence that this nucleus has over postural muscle 

tone, both during waking and REM sleep. However, because there is no known way 

of targeting the ChR2 only to SLD neurons, we cannot know the exact types of 

neurons affected, and indeed it is highly likely that other neural types were 

influenced by our manipulation as well. To overcome this shortcoming, we would 

need to express ChR2 under control of gene promoters that are expressed 

selectively in the SLD. 

One likely possibility for the inconsistent success rate (3 out of 5 rats) is the 5%–

10% inherent variability in animal skull/brain size. Since our injections and fiber 

placements were 11-mm posterior from bregma, a 5% difference in brain size 

would produce an offset of 550 μm. The SLD is a small nucleus, only measuring 

approximately 600-μm anterior to posterior, so even perfectly consistent 

stereotaxic injections would produce unavoidable variation in both the efficacy of 

SLD targeting, as well as the degree to which SLD-targeted manipulations would 

instead reach other unrelated brain circuits. To better isolate our injections to the 

SLD neurons of interest and minimize activating surrounding structures, future 

studies will aim to identify functional genetic targets (e.g., receptors, transporters, 

etc.) that we can use to selectively modulate SLD neuron activity for both 

electrophysiological and optogenetic behavioral tests. 

While EMG activity rapidly decreased following optogenetic activation of the 

SLD, there was no discernible change in EEG neural activity. Since the SLD is 

hypothesized to play a role in both the cognitive and peripheral components of 

REM sleep, these results initially appear to be in conflict. However, there are many 

explanations that could account for these differences (discussed in the following). 

1) The SLD can be segregated into 2 main regions, with the anterior cells 

believed to project to the thalamus and activate the EEG while posterior 

cells project to deeper brainstem structures involved in muscle atonia. If our 

injections and fiber optics were solely located in the posterior SLD then it 

is possible that we dissociated the 2 components of REM. 
11

2) For our experiments we activated the SLD while the animals were in an 

awake state, while REM sleep is normally entered following slow-wave 

sleep (SWS). In order to see changes in the sleep/wake component we may 

need to alter our experimental paradigm and test whether we can influence 

EEG activity after the animal is already in SWS. 

3) EEG activity during waking and REM are nearly indistinguishable, thus it 

may be possible that we did drive the animal into a REM state but were 

unable to verify with the EEG. 

4) Since the AAV-ChR2 expression was not driven by specific promoters of 

the SLD, it could be possible that we simultaneously activated the atonia 

circuitry and nearby competing wake nuclei, thus preventing the animal 

from entering REM sleep. Regardless of the reason, the lack of change in 

EEG activity does not distract from the profound impact we had on muscle 

tone.

Collectively, these preliminary experiments supplied us with behavioral and 

electrophysiological evidence as to the efficacy of activating the SLD to rapidly 

induce an atonic REM-like state.
12

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14

List of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Acronyms

AAV adeno-associated virus

ChR2 channelrhodopsin

EEG electroencephalography

EMG electromyography

GFP green fluorescent protein

Gi gigantocellular nucleus

MS medial septum

MUSC Medical University of South Carolina

NIH National Institutes of Health

NREM/REM non-rapid eye movement to rapid eye movement

peri-LCα peri-locus coeruleus α

PnC pontis caudalis

PnO pontis oralis

REM rapid eye movement

SLD sublaterodorsal 

SubCD dorsal subcoeruleus

SWS slow-wave sleep

vSLD ventrally located SLD
15

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(PDF) US ARMY RESEARCH LAB

RDRL CIO LL

IMAL HRA MAIL & RECORDS 

MGMT

1 GOVT PRINTG OFC

(PDF) A MALHOTRA

1 DIR USAMRICD

(PDF) T SHIH

13 DIR USARL

(PDF) RDRL WM

B FORCH

RDRL WML H

J BERRY

C CAMERON

RDRL WMM

H MAUPIN

R DOWDING

J ZABINSKI

RDRL WMM G

A RAWLETT

L PIEHLER

RDRL WMP

D LYON

S SCHOENFELD

RDRL WMP C

T BJERKE

M FERMEN-COKER

RDRL WMS

M VANLANDINGHAM
16

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