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Mohammadi M, Carriot J, Mackrous I, Cullen KE, Chacron MJ. Neural populations within macaque early vestibular pathways are adapted to encode natural self-motion. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002623. [PMID: 38687807 PMCID: PMC11086886 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
How the activities of large neural populations are integrated in the brain to ensure accurate perception and behavior remains a central problem in systems neuroscience. Here, we investigated population coding of naturalistic self-motion by neurons within early vestibular pathways in rhesus macaques (Macacca mulatta). While vestibular neurons displayed similar dynamic tuning to self-motion, inspection of their spike trains revealed significant heterogeneity. Further analysis revealed that, during natural but not artificial stimulation, heterogeneity resulted primarily from variability across neurons as opposed to trial-to-trial variability. Interestingly, vestibular neurons displayed different correlation structures during naturalistic and artificial self-motion. Specifically, while correlations due to the stimulus (i.e., signal correlations) did not differ, correlations between the trial-to-trial variabilities of neural responses (i.e., noise correlations) were instead significantly positive during naturalistic but not artificial stimulation. Using computational modeling, we show that positive noise correlations during naturalistic stimulation benefits information transmission by heterogeneous vestibular neural populations. Taken together, our results provide evidence that neurons within early vestibular pathways are adapted to the statistics of natural self-motion stimuli at the population level. We suggest that similar adaptations will be found in other systems and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mohammadi
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jerome Carriot
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Kathleen E. Cullen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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2
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Cullen KE, Chacron MJ. Neural substrates of perception in the vestibular thalamus during natural self-motion: A review. CURRENT RESEARCH IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 4:100073. [PMID: 36926598 PMCID: PMC10011815 DOI: 10.1016/j.crneur.2023.100073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence across multiple sensory modalities suggests that the thalamus does not simply relay information from the periphery to the cortex. Here we review recent findings showing that vestibular neurons within the ventral posteriolateral area of the thalamus perform nonlinear transformations on their afferent input that determine our subjective awareness of motion. Specifically, these neurons provide a substrate for previous psychophysical observations that perceptual discrimination thresholds are much better than predictions from Weber's law. This is because neural discrimination thresholds, which are determined from both variability and sensitivity, initially increase but then saturate with increasing stimulus amplitude, thereby matching the previously observed dependency of perceptual self-motion discrimination thresholds. Moreover, neural response dynamics give rise to unambiguous and optimized encoding of natural but not artificial stimuli. Finally, vestibular thalamic neurons selectively encode passively applied motion when occurring concurrently with voluntary (i.e., active) movements. Taken together, these results show that the vestibular thalamus plays an essential role towards generating motion perception as well as shaping our vestibular sense of agency that is not simply inherited from afferent input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen E Cullen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.,Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.,Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
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3
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Cullen KE. Vestibular motor control. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 195:31-54. [PMID: 37562876 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-98818-6.00022-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The vestibular system is an essential sensory system that generates motor reflexes that are crucial for our daily activities, including stabilizing the visual axis of gaze and maintaining head and body posture. In addition, the vestibular system provides us with our sense of movement and orientation relative to space and serves a vital role in ensuring accurate voluntary behaviors. Neurophysiological studies have provided fundamental insights into the functional circuitry of vestibular motor pathways. A unique feature of the vestibular system compared to other sensory systems is that the same central neurons that receive direct input from the afferents of the vestibular component of the 8th nerve can also directly project to motor centers that control vital vestibular motor reflexes. In turn, these reflexes ensure stabilize gaze and the maintenance of posture during everyday activities. For instance, a direct three-neuron pathway mediates the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) pathway to provide stable gaze. Furthermore, recent studies have advanced our understanding of the computations performed by the cerebellum and cortex required for motor learning, compensation, and voluntary movement and navigation. Together, these findings have provided new insights into how the brain ensures accurate self-movement during our everyday activities and have also advanced our knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying disorders of vestibular processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen E Cullen
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering, of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and of Neuroscience; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
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4
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Tanimoto M, Watakabe I, Higashijima SI. Tiltable objective microscope visualizes selectivity for head motion direction and dynamics in zebrafish vestibular system. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7622. [PMID: 36543769 PMCID: PMC9772181 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35190-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatio-temporal information about head orientation and movement is fundamental to the sense of balance and motion. Hair cells (HCs) in otolith organs of the vestibular system transduce linear acceleration, including head tilt and vibration. Here, we build a tiltable objective microscope in which an objective lens and specimen tilt together. With in vivo Ca2+ imaging of all utricular HCs and ganglion neurons during 360° static tilt and vibration in pitch and roll axes, we reveal the direction- and static/dynamic stimulus-selective topographic responses in larval zebrafish. We find that head vibration is preferentially received by striolar HCs, whereas static tilt is preferentially transduced by extrastriolar HCs. Spatially ordered direction preference in HCs is consistent with hair-bundle polarity and is preserved in ganglion neurons through topographic innervation. Together, these results demonstrate topographically organized selectivity for direction and dynamics of head orientation/movement in the vestibular periphery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Tanimoto
- Division of Behavioral Neurobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan.
- Neuronal Networks Research Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan.
| | - Ikuko Watakabe
- Division of Behavioral Neurobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan
- Neuronal Networks Research Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Higashijima
- Division of Behavioral Neurobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan.
- Neuronal Networks Research Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan.
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5
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Liu Z, Hildebrand DGC, Morgan JL, Jia Y, Slimmon N, Bagnall MW. Organization of the gravity-sensing system in zebrafish. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5060. [PMID: 36030280 PMCID: PMC9420129 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32824-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Motor circuits develop in sequence from those governing fast movements to those governing slow. Here we examine whether upstream sensory circuits are organized by similar principles. Using serial-section electron microscopy in larval zebrafish, we generated a complete map of the gravity-sensing (utricular) system spanning from the inner ear to the brainstem. We find that both sensory tuning and developmental sequence are organizing principles of vestibular topography. Patterned rostrocaudal innervation from hair cells to afferents creates an anatomically inferred directional tuning map in the utricular ganglion, forming segregated pathways for rostral and caudal tilt. Furthermore, the mediolateral axis of the ganglion is linked to both developmental sequence and neuronal temporal dynamics. Early-born pathways carrying phasic information preferentially excite fast escape circuits, whereas later-born pathways carrying tonic signals excite slower postural and oculomotor circuits. These results demonstrate that vestibular circuits are organized by tuning direction and dynamics, aligning them with downstream motor circuits and behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhikai Liu
- Dept. of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Joshua L Morgan
- Dept. of Ophthalmology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Yizhen Jia
- Dept. of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Nicholas Slimmon
- Dept. of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Martha W Bagnall
- Dept. of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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6
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Carriot J, McAllister G, Hooshangnejad H, Mackrous I, Cullen KE, Chacron MJ. Sensory adaptation mediates efficient and unambiguous encoding of natural stimuli by vestibular thalamocortical pathways. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2612. [PMID: 35551186 PMCID: PMC9098492 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30348-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory systems must continuously adapt to optimally encode stimuli encountered within the natural environment. The prevailing view is that such optimal coding comes at the cost of increased ambiguity, yet to date, prior studies have focused on artificial stimuli. Accordingly, here we investigated whether such a trade-off between optimality and ambiguity exists in the encoding of natural stimuli in the vestibular system. We recorded vestibular nuclei and their target vestibular thalamocortical neurons during naturalistic and artificial self-motion stimulation. Surprisingly, we found no trade-off between optimality and ambiguity. Using computational methods, we demonstrate that thalamocortical neural adaptation in the form of contrast gain control actually reduces coding ambiguity without compromising the optimality of coding under naturalistic but not artificial stimulation. Thus, taken together, our results challenge the common wisdom that adaptation leads to ambiguity and instead suggest an essential role in underlying unambiguous optimized encoding of natural stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerome Carriot
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | | | - Hamed Hooshangnejad
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
| | | | - Kathleen E Cullen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.,Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.,Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
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7
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Chang HHV, Morley BJ, Cullen KE. Loss of α-9 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Predominantly Results in Impaired Postural Stability Rather Than Gaze Stability. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 15:799752. [PMID: 35095424 PMCID: PMC8792779 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.799752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The functional role of the mammalian efferent vestibular system (EVS) is not fully understood. One proposal is that the mammalian EVS plays a role in the long-term calibration of central vestibular pathways, for example during development. Here to test this possibility, we studied vestibular function in mice lacking a functional α9 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) gene family, which mediates efferent activation of the vestibular periphery. We focused on an α9 (−/−) model with a deletion in exons 1 and 2. First, we quantified gaze stability by testing vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR, 0.2–3 Hz) responses of both α9 (−/−) mouse models in dark and light conditions. VOR gains and phases were comparable for both α9 (−/−) mutants and wild-type controls. Second, we confirmed the lack of an effect from the α9 (−/−) mutation on central visuo-motor pathways/eye movement pathways via analyses of the optokinetic reflex (OKR) and quick phases of the VOR. We found no differences between α9 (−/−) mutants and wild-type controls. Third and finally, we investigated postural abilities during instrumented rotarod and balance beam tasks. Head movements were quantified using a 6D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) module fixed to the mouse’s head. Compared to wild-type controls, we found head movements were strikingly altered in α9 (−/−) mice, most notably in the pitch axis. We confirmed these later results in another α9 (−/−) model, with a deletion in the exon 4 region. Overall, we conclude that the absence of the α9 subunit of nAChRs predominately results in an impairment of posture rather than gaze.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Barbara J. Morley
- Center for Sensory Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Kathleen E. Cullen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Kathleen E. Cullen,
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8
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Barmack NH, Pettorossi VE. Adaptive Balance in Posterior Cerebellum. Front Neurol 2021; 12:635259. [PMID: 33767662 PMCID: PMC7985352 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.635259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Vestibular and optokinetic space is represented in three-dimensions in vermal lobules IX-X (uvula, nodulus) and hemisphere lobule X (flocculus) of the cerebellum. Vermal lobules IX-X encodes gravity and head movement using the utricular otolith and the two vertical semicircular canals. Hemispheric lobule X encodes self-motion using optokinetic feedback about the three axes of the semicircular canals. Vestibular and visual adaptation of this circuitry is needed to maintain balance during perturbations of self-induced motion. Vestibular and optokinetic (self-motion detection) stimulation is encoded by cerebellar climbing and mossy fibers. These two afferent pathways excite the discharge of Purkinje cells directly. Climbing fibers preferentially decrease the discharge of Purkinje cells by exciting stellate cell inhibitory interneurons. We describe instances adaptive balance at a behavioral level in which prolonged vestibular or optokinetic stimulation evokes reflexive eye movements that persist when the stimulation that initially evoked them stops. Adaptation to prolonged optokinetic stimulation also can be detected at cellular and subcellular levels. The transcription and expression of a neuropeptide, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), is influenced by optokinetically-evoked olivary discharge and may contribute to optokinetic adaptation. The transcription and expression of microRNAs in floccular Purkinje cells evoked by long-term optokinetic stimulation may provide one of the subcellular mechanisms by which the membrane insertion of the GABAA receptors is regulated. The neurosteroids, estradiol (E2) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), influence adaptation of vestibular nuclear neurons to electrically-induced potentiation and depression. In each section of this review, we discuss how adaptive changes in the vestibular and optokinetic subsystems of lobule X, inferior olivary nuclei and vestibular nuclei may contribute to the control of balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal H. Barmack
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Vito Enrico Pettorossi
- Section of Human Physiology and Biochemistry, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
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9
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Mackrous I, Carriot J, Cullen KE, Chacron MJ. Neural variability determines coding strategies for natural self-motion in macaque monkeys. eLife 2020; 9:57484. [PMID: 32915134 PMCID: PMC7521927 DOI: 10.7554/elife.57484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We have previously reported that central neurons mediating vestibulo-spinal reflexes and self-motion perception optimally encode natural self-motion (Mitchell et al., 2018). Importantly however, the vestibular nuclei also comprise other neuronal classes that mediate essential functions such as the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and its adaptation. Here we show that heterogeneities in resting discharge variability mediate a trade-off between faithful encoding and optimal coding via temporal whitening. Specifically, neurons displaying lower variability did not whiten naturalistic self-motion but instead faithfully represented the stimulus' detailed time course, while neurons displaying higher variability displayed temporal whitening. Using a well-established model of VOR pathways, we demonstrate that faithful stimulus encoding is necessary to generate the compensatory eye movements found experimentally during naturalistic self-motion. Our findings suggest a novel functional role for variability toward establishing different coding strategies: (1) faithful stimulus encoding for generating the VOR; (2) optimized coding via temporal whitening for other vestibular functions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jérome Carriot
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Kathleen E Cullen
- The Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States.,The Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States.,The Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States.,Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
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10
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Eatock RA. Specializations for Fast Signaling in the Amniote Vestibular Inner Ear. Integr Comp Biol 2019; 58:341-350. [PMID: 29920589 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icy069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
During rapid locomotion, the vestibular inner ear provides head-motion signals that stabilize posture, gaze, and heading. Afferent nerve fibers from central and peripheral zones of vestibular sensory epithelia use temporal and rate encoding, respectively, to emphasize different aspects of head motion: central afferents adapt faster to sustained head position and favor higher stimulus frequencies, reflecting specializations at each stage from motion of the accessory structure to spike propagation to the brain. One specialization in amniotes is an unusual nonquantal synaptic mechanism by which type I hair cells transmit to large calyceal terminals of afferent neurons. The reduced synaptic delay of this mechanism may have evolved to serve reliable and fast input to reflex pathways that ensure stable locomotion on land.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Anne Eatock
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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11
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Abstract
In 1988, we introduced impulsive testing of semicircular canal (SCC) function measured with scleral search coils and showed that it could accurately and reliably detect impaired function even of a single lateral canal. Later we showed that it was also possible to test individual vertical canal function in peripheral and also in central vestibular disorders and proposed a physiological mechanism for why this might be so. For the next 20 years, between 1988 and 2008, impulsive testing of individual SCC function could only be accurately done by a few aficionados with the time and money to support scleral search-coil systems—an expensive, complicated and cumbersome, semi-invasive technique that never made the transition from the research lab to the dizzy clinic. Then, in 2009 and 2013, we introduced a video method of testing function of each of the six canals individually. Since 2009, the method has been taken up by most dizzy clinics around the world, with now close to 100 refereed articles in PubMed. In many dizzy clinics around the world, video Head Impulse Testing has supplanted caloric testing as the initial and in some cases the final test of choice in patients with suspected vestibular disorders. Here, we consider seven current, interesting, and controversial aspects of video Head Impulse Testing: (1) introduction to the test; (2) the progress from the head impulse protocol (HIMPs) to the new variant—suppression head impulse protocol (SHIMPs); (3) the physiological basis for head impulse testing; (4) practical aspects and potential pitfalls of video head impulse testing; (5) problems of vestibulo-ocular reflex gain calculations; (6) head impulse testing in central vestibular disorders; and (7) to stay right up-to-date—new clinical disease patterns emerging from video head impulse testing. With thanks and appreciation we dedicate this article to our friend, colleague, and mentor, Dr Bernard Cohen of Mount Sinai Medical School, New York, who since his first article 55 years ago on compensatory eye movements induced by vertical SCC stimulation has become one of the giants of the vestibular world.
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Affiliation(s)
- G M Halmagyi
- Neurology Department, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Luke Chen
- Neurology Department, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Hamish G MacDougall
- Vestibular Research Laboratory, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Konrad P Weber
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Leigh A McGarvie
- Neurology Department, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Ian S Curthoys
- Vestibular Research Laboratory, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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12
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Matsuno H, Kudoh M, Watakabe A, Yamamori T, Shigemoto R, Nagao S. Distribution and Structure of Synapses on Medial Vestibular Nuclear Neurons Targeted by Cerebellar Flocculus Purkinje Cells and Vestibular Nerve in Mice: Light and Electron Microscopy Studies. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164037. [PMID: 27711146 PMCID: PMC5053601 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Adaptations of vestibulo-ocular and optokinetic response eye movements have been studied as an experimental model of cerebellum-dependent motor learning. Several previous physiological and pharmacological studies have consistently suggested that the cerebellar flocculus (FL) Purkinje cells (P-cells) and the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) neurons targeted by FL (FL-targeted MVN neurons) may respectively maintain the memory traces of short- and long-term adaptation. To study the basic structures of the FL-MVN synapses by light microscopy (LM) and electron microscopy (EM), we injected green florescence protein (GFP)-expressing lentivirus into FL to anterogradely label the FL P-cell axons in C57BL/6J mice. The FL P-cell axonal boutons were distributed in the magnocellular MVN and in the border region of parvocellular MVN and prepositus hypoglossi (PrH). In the magnocellular MVN, the FL-P cell axons mainly terminated on somata and proximal dendrites. On the other hand, in the parvocellular MVN/PrH, the FL P-cell axonal synaptic boutons mainly terminated on the relatively small-diameter (< 1 μm) distal dendrites of MVN neurons, forming symmetrical synapses. The majority of such parvocellular MVN/PrH neurons were determined to be glutamatergic by immunocytochemistry and in-situ hybridization of GFP expressing transgenic mice. To further examine the spatial relationship between the synapses of FL P-cells and those of vestibular nerve on the neurons of the parvocellular MVN/PrH, we added injections of biotinylated dextran amine into the semicircular canal and anterogradely labeled vestibular nerve axons in some mice. The MVN dendrites receiving the FL P-cell axonal synaptic boutons often closely apposed vestibular nerve synaptic boutons in both LM and EM studies. Such a partial overlap of synaptic boutons of FL P-cell axons with those of vestibular nerve axons in the distal dendrites of MVN neurons suggests that inhibitory synapses of FL P-cells may influence the function of neighboring excitatory synapses of vestibular nerve in the parvocellular MVN/PrH neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitomi Matsuno
- Laboratory for Motor Learning Control, Riken Brain Science Institute, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
- * E-mail: (HM); (SN)
| | - Moeko Kudoh
- Laboratory for Motor Learning Control, Riken Brain Science Institute, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Akiya Watakabe
- Laboratory for Molecular Analysis of Higher Brain Function, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Tetsuo Yamamori
- Laboratory for Molecular Analysis of Higher Brain Function, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Ryuichi Shigemoto
- Division of Cerebral Structure, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8787, Japan
| | - Soichi Nagao
- Laboratory for Motor Learning Control, Riken Brain Science Institute, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
- * E-mail: (HM); (SN)
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13
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McElvain LE, Faulstich M, Jeanne JM, Moore JD, du Lac S. Implementation of linear sensory signaling via multiple coordinated mechanisms at central vestibular nerve synapses. Neuron 2015; 85:1132-44. [PMID: 25704949 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2014] [Revised: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Signal transfer in neural circuits is dynamically modified by the recent history of neuronal activity. Short-term plasticity endows synapses with nonlinear transmission properties, yet synapses in sensory and motor circuits are capable of signaling linearly over a wide range of presynaptic firing rates. How do such synapses achieve rate-invariant transmission despite history-dependent nonlinearities? Here, ultrastructural, biophysical, and computational analyses demonstrate that concerted molecular, anatomical, and physiological refinements are required for central vestibular nerve synapses to linearly transmit rate-coded sensory signals. Vestibular synapses operate in a physiological regime of steady-state depression imposed by tonic firing. Rate-invariant transmission relies on brief presynaptic action potentials that delimit calcium influx, large pools of rapidly mobilized vesicles, multiple low-probability release sites, robust postsynaptic receptor sensitivity, and efficient transmitter clearance. Broadband linear synaptic filtering of head motion signals is thus achieved by coordinately tuned synaptic machinery that maintains physiological operation within inherent cell biological limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E McElvain
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Av. Brasília, Doca de Pedrouços, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal.
| | | | - James M Jeanne
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Moore
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sascha du Lac
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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14
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Eatock RA, Songer JE. Vestibular hair cells and afferents: two channels for head motion signals. Annu Rev Neurosci 2011; 34:501-34. [PMID: 21469959 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Vestibular epithelia of the inner ear detect head motions over a wide range of amplitudes and frequencies. In mammals, afferent nerve fibers from central and peripheral zones of vestibular epithelia form distinct populations with different response dynamics and spike timing. Central-zone afferents are large, fast conduits for phasic signals encoded in irregular spike trains. The finer afferents from peripheral zones conduct more slowly and encode more tonic, linear signals in highly regular spike trains. The hair cells are also of two types, I and II, but the two types do not correspond directly to the two afferent populations. Zonal differences in afferent response dynamics may arise at multiple stages, including mechanoelectrical transduction, voltage-gated channels in hair cells and afferents, afferent transmission at calyceal and bouton synapses, and spike generation in regular and irregular afferents. In contrast, zonal differences in spike timing may depend more simply on the selective expression of low-voltage-activated ion channels by irregular afferents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Anne Eatock
- Department of Otology and Laryngology, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
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Ahlfeld J, Mustari M, Horn AKE. Sources of calretinin inputs to motoneurons of extraocular muscles involved in upgaze. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2011; 1233:91-9. [PMID: 21950981 PMCID: PMC4666500 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06168.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Recent monkey studies showed that motoneurons of the oculomotor nucleus involved in upward eye movements receive a selective input from afferents containing calretinin (CR). Here, we investigated the sources of these CR-positive afferents. After injections of tract-tracers into the oculomotor nucleus (nIII) of two monkeys, the retrograde labeling was combined with CR-immunofluorescence in frozen brainstem sections. Three sources of CR inputs to nIII were found: the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fascicle (RIMLF), the interstitial nucleus of Cajal, and the y-group. CR is not present in all premotor upward-moving pathways. The excitatory secondary vestibulo-ocular neurons in the magnocellular part of the medial vestibular nuclei contained nonphosphorylated neurofilaments, but no CR, and they received a strong supply of large CR-positive boutons. In conclusion, the present study presents evidence that only specific premotor pathways for upward eye movements--excitatory upgaze pathways--contain CR, but not the up vestibulo-ocular reflex pathways. This property may help to differentiate between premotor up- and downgaze pathways in correlative clinico-anatomical studies in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Ahlfeld
- Institute of Anatomy I, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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Cellular and network contributions to vestibular signal processing: impact of ion conductances, synaptic inhibition, and noise. J Neurosci 2011; 31:8359-72. [PMID: 21653841 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.6161-10.2011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Head motion-related sensory signals are transformed by second-order vestibular neurons (2°VNs) into appropriate commands for retinal image stabilization during body motion. In frogs, these 2°VNs form two distinct subpopulations that have either tonic or highly phasic intrinsic properties, essentially compatible with low-pass and bandpass filter characteristics, respectively. In the present study, physiological data on cellular properties of 2°VNs of the grass frog (Rana temporaria) have been used to construct conductance-based spiking cellular models that were fine-tuned by fitting to recorded spike-frequency data. The results of this approach suggest that low-threshold, voltage-dependent potassium channels in phasic and spike-dependent potassium channels in tonic 2°VNs are important contributors to the differential, yet complementary response characteristics of the two vestibular subtypes. Extension of the cellular model with conductance-based synapses allowed simulation of afferent excitation and evaluation of the emerging properties of local feedforward inhibitory circuits. This approach revealed the relative contributions of intrinsic and synaptic factors on afferent signal processing in phasic 2°VNs. Additional extension of the single-cell model to a population model allowed testing under more natural conditions including asynchronous afferent labyrinthine input and synaptic noise. This latter approach indicated that the feedforward inhibition from the local inhibitory network acts as a high-pass filter, which reinforces the impact of the intrinsic membrane properties of phasic 2°VNs on peak response amplitude and timing. Thus, the combination of cellular and network properties enables phasic 2°VNs to work as a noise-resistant detector, suitable for central processing of short-duration vestibular signals.
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Kalluri R, Xue J, Eatock RA. Ion channels set spike timing regularity of mammalian vestibular afferent neurons. J Neurophysiol 2010; 104:2034-51. [PMID: 20660422 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00396.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the mammalian vestibular nerve, some afferents have highly irregular interspike intervals and others have highly regular intervals. To investigate whether spike timing is determined by the afferents' ion channels, we studied spiking activity in their cell bodies, isolated from the vestibular ganglia of young rats. Whole cell recordings were made with the perforated-patch method. As previously reported, depolarizing current steps revealed distinct firing patterns. Transient neurons fired one or two onset spikes, independent of current level. Sustained neurons were more heterogeneous, firing either trains of spikes or a spike followed by large voltage oscillations. We show that the firing pattern categories are robust, occurring at different temperatures and ages, both in mice and in rats. A difference in average resting potential did not cause the difference in firing patterns, but contributed to differences in afterhyperpolarizations. A low-voltage-activated potassium current (I(LV)) was previously implicated in the transient firing pattern. We show that I(LV) grew from the first to second postnatal week and by the second week comprised Kv1 and Kv7 (KCNQ) components. Blocking I(LV) converted step-evoked firing patterns from transient to sustained. Separated from their normal synaptic inputs, the neurons did not spike spontaneously. To test whether the firing-pattern categories might correspond to afferent populations of different regularity, we injected simulated excitatory postsynaptic currents at pseudorandom intervals. Sustained neurons responded to a given pattern of input with more regular firing than did transient neurons. Pharmacological block of I(LV) made firing more regular. Thus ion channel differences that produce transient and sustained firing patterns in response to depolarizing current steps can also produce irregular and regular spike timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radha Kalluri
- Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, 243 Charles St., Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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Lai CH, Yiu CN, Lai SK, Ng KP, Yung KK, Shum DK, Chan YS. Maturation of canal-related brainstem neurons in the detection of horizontal angular acceleration in rats. J Comp Neurol 2010; 518:1742-63. [DOI: 10.1002/cne.22300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Straka H, Lambert FM, Pfanzelt S, Beraneck M. Vestibulo-ocular Signal Transformation in Frequency-Tuned Channels. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009; 1164:37-44. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2008.03740.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Bagnall MW, McElvain LE, Faulstich M, du Lac S. Frequency-independent synaptic transmission supports a linear vestibular behavior. Neuron 2008; 60:343-52. [PMID: 18957225 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2008] [Revised: 09/28/2008] [Accepted: 10/07/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The vestibular system is responsible for transforming head motion into precise eye, head, and body movements that rapidly stabilize gaze and posture. How do central excitatory synapses mediate behavioral outputs accurately matched to sensory inputs over a wide dynamic range? Here we demonstrate that vestibular afferent synapses in vitro express frequency-independent transmission that spans their in vivo dynamic range (5-150 spikes/s). As a result, the synaptic charge transfer per unit time is linearly related to vestibular afferent activity in both projection and intrinsic neurons of the vestibular nuclei. Neither postsynaptic glutamate receptor desensitization nor saturation affect the relative amplitude or frequency-independence of steady-state transmission. Finally, we show that vestibular nucleus neurons can transduce synaptic inputs into linear changes in firing rate output without relying on one-to-one calyceal transmission. These data provide a physiological basis for the remarkable linearity of vestibular reflexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha W Bagnall
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
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21
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Histamine excites rat lateral vestibular nuclear neurons through activation of post-synaptic H2 receptors. Neurosci Lett 2008; 448:15-9. [PMID: 18938221 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.10.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2008] [Revised: 09/28/2008] [Accepted: 10/07/2008] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Through whole-cell patch recordings in brainstem slices, the effects of histamine on neuronal activity of the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) were investigated. Bath application of histamine elicited a concentration-dependent excitation of both spontaneous firing (n=19) and silent (n=7) LVN neurons. Moreover, histamine induced a stable inward current in the LVN neurons (n=5) and the histamine-induced depolarization of membrane potential persisted in the presence of tetrodotoxin (n=4), indicating a direct post-synaptic effect of the histamine on the LVN neurons. Selective histamine H2 receptor antagonist ranitidine effectively blocked the histamine-evoked excitatory responses on the LVN neurons (n=4), but selective histamine H1 receptor antagonist triprolidine did not (n=4). In addition, selective histamine H2 receptor agonist dimaprit (n=3) rather than 2-pyridylethylamine (n=4), a selective histamine H1 receptor agonist, mimicked the excitatory action of histamine on LVN neurons. The results demonstrate that histamine excites the LVN neurons via post-synaptic histamine H2 receptors and suggest that the central histaminergic projection arising from the hypothalamus may modulate LVN neurons activity and actively influence the vestibular reflexes and functions.
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Morphometric analysis of the AMPA-type neurons in the Deiter's vestibular complex of the chick brain. J Chem Neuroanat 2008; 35:334-45. [PMID: 18396009 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2008.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2007] [Revised: 02/18/2008] [Accepted: 02/18/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Chicken (Gallus gallus) brains were used to investigate the typology and the immunolabel pattern for the subunits composing the AMPA-type glutamate receptors (GluR) of hindbrain neurons of the dorsal (dND) and ventral nuclei (vND) of the Deiter's vestibular complex (CD), which is the avian correspondent of the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) of mammals. Our results revealed that neurons of both divisions were poor in GluR1. The vND, the GluR2/3+ and GluR4+ label presented no area or neuronal size preference, although most neurons were around 75%. The dND neurons expressing GluR2/3 are primarily around 85%, medium to large-sized 85%, and predominantly 60% located in the medial portion of the rostral pole and in the lateral portion of the caudal pole. The majority of dND neurons containing GluR4 are also around 75%, larger (70% are large and giant), exhibiting a distribution that seems to be complementary to that of GluR2/3+ neurons. This distinct arrangement indicates functional differences into and between the DC nuclei, also signaling that such variation could be attributed to the diverse nature of the subunit composition of the GluRs. Discussion addresses the morphological and functional correlation of the avian DC with the LVN of mammals in addition to the high morphological correspondence, To include these data into the modern comparative approach we propose to adopt a similar nomenclature for the avian divisions dND and vND that could be referred as dLVN and vLVN.
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Shinoda Y, Sugiuchi Y, Izawa Y, Hata Y. Long descending motor tract axons and their control of neck and axial muscles. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2006; 151:527-63. [PMID: 16221600 DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6123(05)51017-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
It has been tacitly assumed that a long descending motor tract axon consists of a private line connecting the cell of origin to a single muscle, as a motoneuron innervates a single muscle. However, this notion of a long descending motor tract referred to as a private line is no longer tenable, since recent studies have showed that axons of all major long descending motor tracts send their axon collaterals to multiple spinal segments, suggesting that they may exert simultaneous influences on different groups of spinal interneurons and motoneurons of multiple muscles. The long descending motor systems are divided into two groups, the medial and the lateral systems including interneurons and motoneurons. In this chapter, we focus mainly on the medial system (vestibulospinal, reticulospinal and tectospinal systems) in relation to movement control of the neck, describe the intraspinal morphologies of single long descending motor tract axons that are stained with intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase, and provide evidence that single long motor-tract neurons are implicated in the neural implementation of functional synergies for head movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshikazu Shinoda
- Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.
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Baizer JS, Baker JF. Immunoreactivity for calcium-binding proteins defines subregions of the vestibular nuclear complex of the cat. Exp Brain Res 2005; 164:78-91. [PMID: 15662522 PMCID: PMC1201542 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-004-2211-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2004] [Accepted: 11/22/2004] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The vestibular nuclear complex (VNC) is classically divided into four nuclei on the basis of cytoarchitectonics. However, anatomical data on the distribution of afferents to the VNC and the distribution of cells of origin of different efferent pathways suggest a more complex internal organization. Immunoreactivity for calcium-binding proteins has proven useful in many areas of the brain for revealing structure not visible with cell, fiber or Golgi stains. We have looked at the VNC of the cat using immunoreactivity for the calcium-binding proteins calbindin, calretinin and parvalbumin. Immunoreactivity for calretinin revealed a small, intensely stained region of cell bodies and processes just beneath the fourth ventricle in the medial vestibular nucleus. A presumably homologous region has been described in rodents. The calretinin-immunoreactive cells in this region were also immunoreactive for choline acetyltransferase. Evidence from other studies suggests that the calretinin region contributes to pathways involved in eye movement modulation but not generation. There were focal dense regions of fibers immunoreactive to calbindin in the medial and inferior nuclei, with an especially dense region of label at the border of the medial nucleus and the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi. There is anatomical evidence that suggests that the likely source of these calbindin-immunoreactive fibers is the flocculus of the cerebellum. The distribution of calbindin-immunoreactive fibers in the lateral and superior nuclei was much more uniform. Immunoreactivity to parvalbumin was widespread in fibers distributed throughout the VNC. The results suggest that neurochemical techniques may help to reveal the internal complexity in VNC organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan S Baizer
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 123 Sherman Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14214-3078, USA.
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Beraneck M, Idoux E, Uno A, Vidal PP, Moore LE, Vibert N. Unilateral labyrinthectomy modifies the membrane properties of contralesional vestibular neurons. J Neurophysiol 2004; 92:1668-84. [PMID: 15140902 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00158.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Vestibular compensation after a unilateral labyrinthectomy leads to nearly complete disappearance of the static symptoms triggered by the lesion. However, the dynamic vestibular reflexes associated with head movements remain impaired. Because the contralesional labyrinth plays a prominent role in the generation of these dynamic responses, intracellular recordings of contralesional medial vestibular nucleus neurons (MVNn) were done after 1 mo of compensation. Their firing properties and cell type were characterized at rest, and their response dynamics investigated using step, ramp, and sinusoidal current stimulations. The sensitivity of the contralesional MVNn firing rates to applied current was increased, which, along with increased phase leads, suggests that significant changes in active conductances occurred. We found an increased proportion of the phasic type B neurons relative to the tonic type A neurons in the contralesional MVN. In addition, the remaining contralesional type A MVNn response dynamics tended to approach those of type B MVNn. Thus the contralesional MVNn in general showed more phasic response dynamics than those of control MVNn. Altogether, the firing properties of MVNn are differentially modified on the ipsilesional and contralesional sides of the brain stem 1 mo after unilateral labyrinthectomy. Ipsilesional MVNn acquire more "type A-like" tonic membrane properties, which would contribute to the stabilization of the spontaneous activity that recovers in the deafferented neurons during vestibular compensation. The bilateral increase in the sensitivity of MVNn and the acquisition of more "B-like" phasic membrane properties by contralesional MVNn should promote the restoration of the vestibular reflexes generated by the remaining, contralesional labyrinth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Beraneck
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Réseaux Sensorimoteurs, CNRS UMR 7060, Université Paris 5, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75270 Paris Cédex 06, France
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Uno A, Idoux E, Beraneck M, Vidal PP, Moore LE, Wilson VJ, Vibert N. Static and dynamic membrane properties of lateral vestibular nucleus neurons in guinea pig brain stem slices. J Neurophysiol 2003; 90:1689-703. [PMID: 12761276 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00201.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In vitro intracellular recordings of central vestibular neurons have been restricted so far to the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN). We performed intracellular recordings of large Deiters' neurons in the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) to determine their static and dynamic membrane properties, and compare them with those of type A and type B neurons identified in the MVN. Unlike MVN neurons (MVNn), the giant-size LVN neurons (LVNn) form a homogeneous population of cells characterized by sharp spikes, a low-amplitude, biphasic after-hyperpolarization like type B MVNn, but also an A-like rectification like type A MVNn. In accordance with their lower membrane resistance, the sensitivity of LVNn to current injection was lower than that of MVNn over a large range of frequencies. The main difference between LVNn and MVNn was that the Bode plots showing the sensitivity of LVNn as a function of stimulation frequency were flatter than those of MVNn, and displayed a weaker resonance. Furthermore, most LVNn did not show a gradual decrease of their firing rate modulation in the frequency range where it was observed in MVNn. LVNn synchronized their firing with the depolarizing phase of high-frequency sinusoidal current injections. In vivo studies have shown that the MVN would be mainly involved in gaze control, whereas the giant LVNn that project to the spinal cord are involved in the control of posture. We suggest that the difference in the membrane properties of LVNn and MVNn may reflect their specific physiological roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsuhiko Uno
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Réseaux Sensorimoteurs, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 7060, Université Paris 5, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, 75270 Paris Cédex 06, France.
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Beraneck M, Hachemaoui M, Idoux E, Ris L, Uno A, Godaux E, Vidal PP, Moore LE, Vibert N. Long-term plasticity of ipsilesional medial vestibular nucleus neurons after unilateral labyrinthectomy. J Neurophysiol 2003; 90:184-203. [PMID: 12649317 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01140.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Unilateral labyrinthectomy results in oculomotor and postural disturbances that regress in a few days during vestibular compensation. The long-term (after 1 mo) consequences of unilateral labyrinthectomy were investigated by characterizing the static and dynamic membrane properties of the ipsilesional vestibular neurons recorded intracellularly in guinea pig brain stem slices. We compared the responses of type A and type B medial vestibular nucleus neurons identified in vitro to current steps and ramps and to sinusoidal currents of various frequencies. All ipsilesional vestibular neurons were depolarized by 6-10 mV at rest compared with the cells recorded from control slices. Both their average membrane potential and firing threshold were more depolarized, which suggests that changes in active conductances compensated for the loss of excitatory afferents. The afterhyperpolarization and discharge regularity of type B but not type A neurons were increased. All ipsilesional vestibular cells became more sensitive to current injections over a large range of frequencies (0.2-30 Hz), but this increase in sensitivity was greater for type B than for type A neurons. This was associated with an increase of the peak frequency of linear response restricted to type B neurons, from 4-6 to 12-14 Hz. Altogether, we show that long-term vestibular compensation involves major changes in the membrane properties of vestibular neurons on the deafferented side. Many of the static and dynamic membrane properties of type B neurons became more similar to those of type A neurons than in control slices, leading to an increase in the overall homogeneity of medial vestibular nucleus neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Beraneck
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Réseaux Sensorimoteurs, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7060, Université Paris 5, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, 75270 Paris Cédex 06, France
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Abstract
The vestibular nuclei and posterior cerebellum are the destination of vestibular primary afferents and the subject of this review. The vestibular nuclei include four major nuclei (medial, descending, superior and lateral). In addition, smaller vestibular nuclei include: Y-group, parasolitary nucleus, and nucleus intercalatus. Each of the major nuclei can be subdivided further based primarily on cytological and immunohistochemical histological criteria or differences in afferent and/or efferent projections. The primary afferent projections of vestibular end organs are distributed to several ipsilateral vestibular nuclei. Vestibular nuclei communicate bilaterally through a commissural system that is predominantly inhibitory. Secondary vestibular neurons also receive convergent sensory information from optokinetic circuitry, central visual system and neck proprioceptive systems. Secondary vestibular neurons cannot distinguish between sources of afferent activity. However, the discharge of secondary vestibular neurons can distinguish between "active" and "passive" movements. The posterior cerebellum has extensive afferent and efferent connections with vestibular nuclei. Vestibular primary afferents are distributed to the ipsilateral uvula-nodulus as mossy fibers. Vestibular secondary afferents are distributed bilaterally. Climbing fibers to the cerebellum originate from two subnuclei of the contralateral inferior olive; the dorsomedial cell column and beta-nucleus. Vestibular climbing fibers carry information only from the vertical semicircular canals and otoliths. They establish a coordinate map, arrayed in sagittal zones on the surface of the uvula-nodulus. Purkinje cells respond to vestibular stimulation with antiphasic modulation of climbing fiber responses (CFRs) and simple spikes (SSs). The modulation of SSs is out of phase with the modulation of vestibular primary afferents. Modulation of SSs persists, even after vestibular primary afferents are destroyed by a unilateral labyrinthectomy, suggesting that an interneuronal network, triggered by CFRs is responsible for SS modulation. The vestibulo-cerebellum, imposes a vestibular coordinate system on postural responses and permits adaptive guidance of movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal H Barmack
- Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health and Sciences University, 505 NW 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97006, USA.
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Newlands SD, Perachio AA. Central projections of the vestibular nerve: a review and single fiber study in the Mongolian gerbil. Brain Res Bull 2003; 60:475-95. [PMID: 12787868 DOI: 10.1016/s0361-9230(03)00051-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The primary purpose of this article is to review the anatomy of central projections of the vestibular nerve in amniotes. We also report primary data regarding the central projections of individual horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-filled afferents innervating the saccular macula, horizontal semicircular canal ampulla, and anterior semicircular canal ampulla of the gerbil. In total, 52 characterized primary vestibular afferent axons were intraaxonally injected with HRP and traced centrally to terminations. Lateral and anterior canal afferents projected most heavily to the medial and superior vestibular nuclei. Saccular afferents projected strongly to the spinal vestibular nucleus, weakly to other vestibular nuclei, to the interstitial nucleus of the eighth nerve, the cochlear nuclei, the external cuneate nucleus, and nucleus y. The current findings reinforce the preponderance of literature. The central distribution of vestibular afferents is not homogeneous. We review the distribution of primary afferent terminations described for a variety of mammalian and avian species. The tremendous overlap of the distributions of terminals from the specific vestibular nerve branches with one another and with other sensory inputs provides a rich environment for sensory integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn D Newlands
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0521, USA.
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Newlands SD, Purcell IM, Kevetter GA, Perachio AA. Central projections of the utricular nerve in the gerbil. J Comp Neurol 2002; 452:11-23. [PMID: 12205706 DOI: 10.1002/cne.10350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The central projections of primary afferent fibers in the utricular nerve, which convey linear head acceleration signals to neurons in the brainstem and cerebellum, are not completely defined. The purpose of this investigation was twofold: 1) to define the central projections of the gerbil utricular afferents by injecting horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) into the utricular macula; and 2) to investigate the projections of individual utricular afferents by injecting HRP intracellularly into functionally identified utricular neurons. We found that utricular afferents in the gerbil projected to all divisions of the vestibular nuclear complex, except the dorsal lateral vestibular nucleus. In addition, terminals were observed in the interstitial nucleus of the eighth nerve, nucleus Y, external cuneate nucleus, and lobules I, IV, V, IX, and X of the cerebellar vermis. No projections appeared in the flocculus or paraflocculus. Fibers traversed the medial and intermediate cerebellar nuclei, but terminals appeared only occasionally. Individual utricular afferents collateralize extensively, projecting to much of the brainstem area innervated by the whole of the utricular nerve. This study did not produce complete filling of individual afferent collateral projections into the cerebellar cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn D Newlands
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, USA
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Abstract
This review considers whether the vestibular system includes separate populations of sensory axons innervating individual organs and giving rise to distinct central pathways. There is a variability in the discharge properties of afferents supplying each organ. Discharge regularity provides a marker for this diversity since fibers which differ in this way also differ in many other properties. Postspike recovery of excitability determines the discharge regularity of an afferent and its sensitivity to depolarizing inputs. Sensitivity is small in regularly discharging afferents and large in irregularly discharging afferents. The enhanced sensitivity of irregular fibers explains their larger responses to sensory inputs, to efferent activation, and to externally applied galvanic currents, but not their distinctive response dynamics. Morphophysiological studies show that regular and irregular afferents innervate overlapping regions of the vestibular nuclei. Intracellular recordings of EPSPs reveal that some secondary vestibular neurons receive a restricted input from regular or irregular afferents, but that most such neurons receive a mixed input from both kinds of afferents. Anodal currents delivered to the labyrinth can result in a selective and reversible silencing of irregular afferents. Such a functional ablation can provide estimates of the relative contributions of regular and irregular inputs to a central neuron's discharge. From such estimates it is concluded that secondary neurons need not resemble their afferent inputs in discharge regularity or response dynamics. Several suggestions are made as to the potentially distinctive contributions made by regular and irregular afferents: (1) Reflecting their response dynamics, regular and irregular afferents could compensate for differences in the dynamic loads of various reflexes or of individual reflexes in different parts of their frequency range; (2) The gating of irregular inputs to secondary VOR neurons could modify the operation of reflexes under varying behavioral circumstances; (3) Two-dimensional sensitivity can arise from the convergence onto secondary neurons of otolith inputs differing in their directional properties and response dynamics; (4) Calyx afferents have relatively low gains when compared with irregular dimorphic afferents. This could serve to expand the stimulus range over which the response of calyx afferents remains linear, while at the same time preserving the other features peculiar to irregular afferents. Among those features are phasic response dynamics and large responses to efferent activation; (5) Because of the convergence of several afferents onto each secondary neuron, information transmission to the latter depends on the gain of individual afferents, but not on their discharge regularity.
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Vibert N, Bantikyan A, Babalian A, Serafin M, Mühlethaler M, Vidal PP. Post-lesional plasticity in the central nervous system of the guinea-pig: a "top-down" adaptation process? Neuroscience 1999; 94:1-5. [PMID: 10613489 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(99)00323-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Vestibular compensation for the postural and oculomotor deficits following unilateral labyrinthectomy is a model of functional plasticity in the brain of adult vertebrates. The mechanisms involved in this recovery are still controversial. The post-lesional lack of vestibular input might be compensated by changes in the efficacy of the remaining sensory inputs involved in gaze and posture stabilization. However, the compensation process could also rapidly become independent of these external cues, and thus be detectable in vitro in preparations obtained from lesioned animals. In agreement with this hypothesis, we have shown recently that prominent traces of the compensation process appeared three days after the lesion on in vitro isolated brains taken from labyrinthectomized guinea-pigs, where the connectivity of the central vestibular-related networks is preserved. We report here that, one week after the lesion, a slight increase in the intrinsic, spontaneous activity of the deafferented, central vestibular neurons was found in brainstem slices. This increase became stronger in slices taken after one month of compensation, and was associated at this stage with a significant decrease in the intrinsic activity of the vestibular neurons on the contralesional side. Vestibular compensation could thus follow a "top-down" strategy: it would first rely on the external cues given by the intact sensory systems, then on an internal reorganization of the vestibular-related networks, and finally on changes in the intrinsic properties of the vestibular neurons themselves. Similar strategies may be used by the mammalian brain to compensate for other types of deafferentations or environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Vibert
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Réseaux Sensorimoteurs, CNRS ESA 7060, Université Paris 5, Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères, France.
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Peterson EH. Are There Parallel Channels in the Vestibular Nerve? NEWS IN PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY PRODUCED JOINTLY BY THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND THE AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1998; 13:194-201. [PMID: 11390788 DOI: 10.1152/physiologyonline.1998.13.4.194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A popular concept in neurobiology is that sensory information is transmitted to the central nervous system over parallel channels of neurons that play different functional roles. But alternative organizing schemes are possible, and it is useful to ask whether some other framework might better account for the diversity of vestibular primary afferents.
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Alvarez JC, Díaz C, Suárez C, Fernández JA, González del Rey C, Navarro A, Tolivia J. Neuronal loss in human medial vestibular nucleus. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 1998; 251:431-8. [PMID: 9713981 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0185(199808)251:4<431::aid-ar2>3.0.co;2-v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The data concerning the effects of age on the brainstem are inconsistent, and few works are devoted to the human vestibular nuclear complex. The medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) is the largest nucleus of the vestibular nuclear complex, and it seems to be related mainly to vestibular compensation and vestibulo-ocular reflexes. Eight human brainstems have been used in this work. The specimens were embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and stained by the formaldehyde-thionin technique. Neuron profiles were drawn with a camera lucida at x330. Abercrombie's method was used to estimate the total number of neurons. We used the test of Kolmogorov-Smirnov with the correction of Lilliefors to evaluate the fit of our data to a normal distribution, and a regression analysis was performed to determine if the variation of our data with age was statistically significant. The present study clearly shows that neuronal loss occurs with aging. The total number of neurons decreases with age, from 122,241 +/- 651 cells in a 35-year-old individual to 75,915 +/- 453 cells in an 89-year-old individual. Neuron loss was significant in the caudal and intermediate thirds of the nucleus, whereas the changes in the rostral third were not significant. The nuclear diameter of surviving neurons decreased significantly with age. There is a neuron loss in the MVN that seems to be age-related. It could help explain why elderly people find it hard to compensate for unilateral vestibular deficits. The preservation of neurons in the rostral third could be related to the fact that this area primarily innervates the oculolmotor nuclei; these latter neurons do not decrease in number in other species studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C Alvarez
- Departamento de Morfología y Biología Celular, Facultad de Biología y Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain
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Gacek RR, Khetarpal U, Schoonmaker J. Morphological and neurochemical correlates of vestibular compensation. Auris Nasus Larynx 1998; 25:193-201. [PMID: 9673734 DOI: 10.1016/s0385-8146(98)00015-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Morphometric analysis of the cat's superior vestibulo-ocular neurons (SVON) 8 weeks, and 1 and 2 years following vestibular neurectomy or labyrinthectomy revealed similar changes which indicate that an excitatory mode of input to the denervated SVON is responsible for the behavioral recovery. These changes include an increased proportion of strong asymmetric synapses, somal spines surrounding the SP, increased size of and number of SP at long (> 1 year) survival periods. There is a parallel decrease < 1 year and increase > 1 year of contralateral vestibular nerve SP on SVON which matches in timing and magnitude the number of ipsilateral vestibular nerve SP after surgical ablation. These unexpected SVON are consistent with the hypothesis that neurotrophins regulate symmetry in the adult vestibular system. This hypothesis was tested in a series of 13 heterozygous brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin 3 (NT3), and neurotrophin 4 (NT4) knockout mice. Following unilateral surgical labyrinthectomy the BDNF and NT4 knockout mice demonstrated no delay in behavioral recovery compared to their normal littermate controls. However, the NT3 knockout mice required twice the time to recover from balance deficits as their littermate controls. These results indicate that NT3 protein is important for normal vestibular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- R R Gacek
- Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, Health Science Center, State University of New York, Syracuse 13210, USA
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Babalian A, Vibert N, Assie G, Serafin M, Mühlethaler M, Vidal PP. Central vestibular networks in the guinea-pig: functional characterization in the isolated whole brain in vitro. Neuroscience 1997; 81:405-26. [PMID: 9300431 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(97)00069-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The isolated, in vitro whole brain of guinea-pig was used to assess some of the main physiological and pharmacological properties of the vestibulo-ocular pathways in this species. Extracellular and intracellular recordings were obtained from the vestibular, abducens and oculomotor nuclei, as well as from the abducens and oculomotor nerves, while inputs from the vestibular afferents, the visual pathways and the spinal cord were activated. The three main types of medial vestibular nucleus neurons (A, B and B+LTS), previously described on slices, were also identified in the isolated brain. They had similar membrane properties in both preparations. Eighty-five per cent of cells recorded in the vestibular nucleus responded with monosynaptic, excitatory postsynaptic potentials (latency 1.05-1.9 ms) to stimulation of the ipsilateral vestibular nerve, and were thus identified as second-order vestibular neurons. In addition, stimulation of the contralateral vestibular afferents revealed in most cases a disynaptic or trisynaptic, commissural inhibition. Second-order vestibular neurons displayed in the isolated brain a high degree of variability of their spontaneous activity, as in alert guinea-pigs. Type A neurons always exhibited a regular firing, while type B and B+LTS cells could have very irregular patterns of spontaneous discharge. Thus, type A and type B neurons might correspond, respectively, to the tonic and phasic vestibular neurons described in vivo. The regularity of spontaneous discharge was positively correlated with the amplitude of spike after hyperpolarization, and there was a trend for irregular neurons to be excited from ipsilateral vestibular afferents at shorter latencies than regular units. Synaptic activation could trigger subthreshold plateau potentials and low-threshold spikes in some of the second-order vestibular neurons. As a second step, the pharmacology of the synaptic transmission between primary vestibular afferents and second-order neurons was assessed using specific antagonists of the glutamatergic receptors. Both the synaptic field potentials and excitatory postsynaptic potentials elicited in the medial vestibular nucleus by single shock stimulation of the ipsilateral vestibular nerve were largely or, sometimes, totally blocked by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione, indicating a dominating role of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor-mediated glutamatergic transmission. The remaining component of the responses was completely or partially suppressed by DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid in 35% of the cases, suggesting a concomitant, moderate involvement of N-methyl-D-asparate receptors. In addition, a synaptic response resistant to both antagonists, but sensitive to a zero Ca2+/high Mg(2+)-containing solution, was often observed. Finally, recordings from abducens and oculomotor complexes confirmed the existence in the guinea-pig of strong bilateral, disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory inputs from vestibular afferents to motoneurons of extraocular muscles, which contribute to generation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. The functional integrity of vestibular-related pathways in the isolated brain was additionally checked by stimulation of the spinal cord and optic tract. Stimulation of the spinal cord evoked, in addition to antidromic responses in the vestibular nucleus, short-latency synaptic responses in both the vestibular nucleus and abducens motoneurons, suggesting possible recruitment of spinal afferents. Activation of visual pathways at the level of the optic chiasm often induced long latency responses in the various structures under study. These results demonstrate that the in vitro isolated brain can be readily used for detailed, functional studies of the neuronal networks underlying gaze and posture control.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Babalian
- Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l'Action, CNRS-Collège de France, UMR C-9950, Paris, France
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Gacek RR, Schoonmaker JE. Morphologic changes in the vestibular nerves and nuclei after labyrinthectomy in the cat: a case for the neurotrophin hypothesis in vestibular compensation. Acta Otolaryngol 1997; 117:244-9. [PMID: 9105459 DOI: 10.3109/00016489709117780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Morphological changes in the vestibular nerves and superior vestibulocular neurons (SVON) after unilateral labyrinthectomy in cats revealed a progressive loss of axons in the ipsilateral vestibular nerve (35%) and synaptic profiles (SP) on ipsilateral SVON (60%) up to a 1-year survival period. Although the ipsilateral vestibular nerve showed further degeneration (45%) at 2 years post ablation, the number of SP on ipsilateral SVON increased to 60% of normal (40% loss). These SP likely represent sprouting from crossing commissural or cerebellar pathways. Contralateral vestibular nerves at 1 and 2 years post ablation revealed normal numbers and size spectrum, but the number of SP contacting the contralateral SVON at 8 weeks, 1 and 2 years paralleled the levels of SP found on ipsilateral SVON. The symmetry in adjustment of SP on the SVON of both sides of the brainstem after ablation may be explained by the neurotrophin hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- R R Gacek
- Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse, USA
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Vibert N, De Waele C, Serafin M, Babalian A, Mühlethaler M, Vidal PP. The vestibular system as a model of sensorimotor transformations. A combined in vivo and in vitro approach to study the cellular mechanisms of gaze and posture stabilization in mammals. Prog Neurobiol 1997; 51:243-86. [PMID: 9089790 DOI: 10.1016/s0301-0082(96)00057-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
To understand the cellular mechanisms underlying behaviours in mammals, the respective contributions of the individual properties characterizing each neuron, as opposed to the properties emerging from the organization of these neurons in functional networks, have to be evaluated. This requires the use, in the same species, of various in vivo and in vitro experimental preparations. The present review is meant to illustrate how such a combined in vivo in vitro approach can be used to investigate the vestibular-related neuronal networks involved in gaze and posture stabilization, together with their plasticity, in the adult guinea-pig. Following first a general introduction on the vestibular system, the second section describes various in vivo experiments aimed at characterizing gaze and posture stabilization in that species. The third and fourth parts of the review deal with the combined in vivo-in vitro investigations undertaken to unravel the physiological and pharmacological properties of vestibulo-ocular and vestibulo-spinal networks, together with their functional implications. In particular, we have tried to use the central vestibular neurons as examples to illustrate how the preparation of isolated whole brain can be used to bridge the gap between the results obtained through in vitro, intracellular recordings on slices and those collected in vivo, in the behaving animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Vibert
- Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l' Action, CNRS-College de France, UMR C-9950, Paris, France
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Cytoarchitectural investigations of the vestibular nuclei have been undertaken in different species of mammals. These data provide a description of the general architecture of the nuclei but limited information about quantitative characteristics of their cell population. We have recently obtained data about the morphometric parameters of the vestibular nuclei neurons in some species. The application of quantitative image analysis techniques to the research of the cellular morphology in the vestibular area of humans might provide basic information to compare with data from animal studies, taking into account the observed correlation between physiological and morphological properties of vestibular neurons. METHODS The characteristics of the major vestibular nuclei in humans have been studied with light microscopic techniques in serially cut sections. Camera lucida drawings of the vestibular nuclei and their neurons were made and subjected to computerized image analysis. For each vestibular nucleus, information was obtained about topography, morphological characteristics (i.e., location, volume, and length), and the number and morphometric parameters of their neurons (cross-sectional areas, maximum and minimum diameters). Morphometric data about cell parameters were statistically analyzed by comparing the populations within different parts of each nucleus and from different nuclei. RESULTS Among the vestibular nuclei, the medial, which is the largest, has the greatest number of neurons, and the interstitial, the least. The lateral and interstitial nuclei contain the largest cells, and the descending nucleus has the smallest cells. The superior nucleus contains cells of intermediate size. The size of cells decreases in a rostrocaudal direction in the medial, lateral, and descending nuclei, the opposite trend being observed in the superior nucleus. Within the superior and medial nuclei, there are discrete areas with cells with distinctive characteristics. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that, just as most of the anatomical characteristics of the second-order neurons found in animals have been preserved in humans, so the physiological mechanisms observed in the vestibular system of animals should apply to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Suárez
- Servicio de Otorrinolaringología, Hospital Central de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain
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Díaz C, Suárez C, Navarro A, González Del Rey C, Alvarez JC, Méndez E, Tolivia J. Rostrocaudal and ventrodorsal change in neuronal cell size in human medial vestibular nucleus. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 1996; 246:403-9. [PMID: 8915462 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0185(199611)246:3<403::aid-ar11>3.0.co;2-s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The present paper describes the cytoarchitectonic, morphometric, and three-dimensional characteristics of the human medial vestibular nucleus (MVN). We also studied the regional distribution, in size, of the different neurons and its possible relationship with a functional polarization of the different regions of the nucleus. METHODS Nine adult human brainstems (30-50 years of age) without neurological problems were used. Specimens were obtained from necropsy and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and 5% acetic acid in distilled water. After fixation, blocks were washed, dehydrated, and embedded in paraffin and serial sectioned at 20 microns. Sections were stained with formaldehydethionin, dehydrated, cleared in eucalyptol, and mounted with Eukitt. MVN neurons were drawn with the aid of a camera lucida at 200-micron intervals at 390 x magnification. Serial 50-micron frozen sections were used to determine the volume of the MVN. The three-dimensional reconstruction of MVN was accomplished with a drawing program in a Macinthosh II computer and an AVS on a Stardent workstation computer. RESULTS In the three-dimensional reconstruction, the human MVN shows a pyramidal form. The base of this pyramid constitutes the rostral limit, and its vertex forms the caudal border of the MVN. The estimated volume is 30.44 +/- 0.85 mm3, with a neuronal population of 127,737 cells and 4,136 neurons/mm3 in density. The average neuronal cross-section changes from one minimum at caudal level (212.46 +/- 2.04 microns 2) to one maximum at rostral level (491.47 +/- 5.08 microns 2). Four cell types, small (< 200 microns 2), medium (200-500 microns 2), large (500-1000 microns 2), and giant (> 1,000 microns 2) cells, were observed. Medium cells constitute 66%, small cells 18%, and large and giant cells 15% and 1% of the neuronal population. CONCLUSIONS The MVN shows a variation in neuronal size, and it has the highest neuronal density of all the human vestibular nuclei. Large cells predominate in rostral regions of the MVN, with significant differences in the area and diameter of the cells among rostral, central, and caudal regions. Furthermore, the largest cells are grouped in the ventrolateral part of the nucleus, close to its boundaries with the inferior and the lateral vestibular nuclei. The morphological polarization, with respect to the neuronal size of the MVN, can be related to a functional polarization of rostral and caudal regions of this nucleus.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Díaz
- Sección de Otorrinolaringologia, Hospital San Agustín, Avilés, Spain
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Serafin M, Vidal PP, Mühlethaler M. Electrophysiological study of nucleus gigantocellularis neurons in guinea-pig brainstem slices. Neuroscience 1996; 73:797-805. [PMID: 8809799 DOI: 10.1016/0306-4522(96)00054-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Gigantocellular neurons of the medullary nucleus gigantocellularis represent a major source of reticulospinal pathways. Among other roles, they have been involved in the processing of vestibular information. The aim of the present study was to describe the major intrinsic membrane properties of these cells in guinea-pig brainstem slices. We found nucleus gigantocellularis neurons to be segregated in two cell types. Type A nucleus gigantocellularis neurons were characterized by the presence of a single large afterhyperpolarization and a potent transient 4-aminopyridine-sensitive rectification likely due to the presence of a transient outward potassium current. In contrast, type B nucleus gigantocellularis neurons had a narrower and faster rising action potential followed by an early fast and a delayed slower after-hyperpolarization. In contrast to type A neurons, type B neurons were, in addition, endowed with subthreshold tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium-dependent plateau potentials. Whereas both cell types were endowed with high-threshold calcium-dependent action potentials, only type B nucleus gigantocellularis neurons also displayed long-lasting calcium-dependent plateau potentials. These results show that nucleus gigantocellularis neurons can be segregated by their intrinsic membrane properties it two cell types which are very similar to those that we have previously described in the medial vestibular nucleus. The possibility that these differences between type A and B neurons might play a role in the segregation between tonic and kinetic cells is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Serafin
- Département de Physiologie, CMU, Genève, Switzerland
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Straka H, Reichengerger I, Dieringer N. Size-related properties of vestibular afferent fibers in the frog: uptake of and immunoreactivity for glycine and aspartate/glutamate. Neuroscience 1996; 70:685-96. [PMID: 9045081 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(96)83007-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Vestibular afferent fibers and their somata in the ganglion of Scarpa colocalize glutamate and glycine in a size-related manner. In this study tritiated aspartate, glycine or GABA was injected in the vestibular nuclear complex of frogs to investigate the uptake by afferent fibers and the retrograde transport of these amino acids to the cell bodies in the ganglion by autoradiographical methods. Ganglion cells were labeled by [3H]aspartate or [3H]glycine but not by [3H]GABA. The intensity of labeling with [3H]glycine increased and the intensity of labeling with [3H]aspartate decreased with cell size. On consecutive semithin sections the immunoreactivity of the same neurons was investigated with antibodies against glutamate or glycine. The results of this combined study showed that smaller, strongly glutamate immunopositive ganglion cells exhibited only weak or no labeling with [3H]glycine whereas larger, less strongly glutamate immunopositive ganglion cells were more intensely labeled with [3H]glycine. A similar size-related labeling pattern was observed in ganglion cells for [3H]aspartate and glycine-immunoreactivity. Both glycine uptake and glutamate immunoreactivity, as well as aspartate uptake and glycine-immunoreactivity, tended to be inversely correlated with the size of a given ganglion cell. These results provide evidence for a specific, size-related uptake of aspartate and glycine and are compatible with our hypothesis that the two amino acids are coreleased by thick but not by thin vestibular afferents. In an accompanying paper [Straka H. et al. (1995) Neuroscience 70, 697-707], we provide evidence for a size-related, monosynaptic activation of different glutamate receptors by vestibular afferent fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Straka
- Physiologisches Institut, München, Germany
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Straka H, Debler K, Dieringer N. Size-related properties of vestibular afferent fibers in the frog: differential synaptic activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Neuroscience 1996; 70:697-707. [PMID: 9045082 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(96)83008-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Vestibular afferent fibers exhibit a specific, cell size-related uptake of aspartate and glycine [Straka H. et al. (1995) Neuroscience 70, 685-696]. A similar, size-related coexistence of glycine and glutamate had been reported earlier for these fibers [Reichenberger I. and Dieringer N. (1994) J. comp. Neurol. 349, 603-614]. Taken together, these results suggest a size-related co-release of both amino acids and the activation of different glutamate receptors in second order vestibular neurons. To test this hypothesis we stimulated the VIIIth nerve and recorded the responses of central vestibular neurons in the isolated brainstem of frogs before and during the application of the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists (7-chlorokynurenic acid and D-(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid). The presence of either one of these antagonists provoked a dose-dependent and Mg(2+)-sensitive partial block of the monosynaptic responses recorded extra- or intracellularly. This implies that afferent-evoked responses in central vestibular neurons are composed of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated components. In most of the intracellularly recorded neurons (21 out of 24) the relative amplitude of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated component decreased with an increase in stimulus intensity. Since electric stimulation recruits thick afferents at a lower current intensity than thin afferent fibers, our results imply a co-activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors by thick vestibular afferents. At a given stimulus intensity the amplitude of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated component differed between neurons. The results of this study extend the list of known anatomical, histochemical and physiological properties that distinguish thick from thinner vestibular afferent fibers. In spite of this detailed knowledge, however, the physiological role of thick vestibular afferents is so far unclear. The novel concept of a size-related co-activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors by vestibular afferent fibers establishes the basis for more specific physiological hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Straka
- Physiologisches Institut, München, Germany
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De Zeeuw CI, Berrebi AS. Postsynaptic targets of Purkinje cell terminals in the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei of the rat. Eur J Neurosci 1995; 7:2322-33. [PMID: 8563981 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.1995.tb00653.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The cerebellar and vestibular nuclei consist of a heterogeneous group of inhibitory and excitatory neurons. A major proportion of the inhibitory neurons provides a GABAergic feedback to the inferior olive, while the excitatory neurons exert more direct effects on motor control via non-olivary structures. At present is is not clear whether Purkinje cells innervate all types of neurons in the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei or whether an individual Purkinje cell axon can innervate different types of neurons. In the present study, we studied the postsynaptic targets of Purkinje cell axons in the rat using a combination of pre-embedding immunolabelling of the Purkinje cell terminals by L7, a Purkinje cell-specific marker, and postembedding GABA and glycine immunocytochemistry. In the cerebellar nuclei, vestibular nuclei and nucleus prepositus hypoglossi Purkinje cell terminals were found apposed to GABAergic and glycinergic neurons as well as to larger non-GABAergic, non-glycinergic neurons. In the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei individual Purkinje cell terminals innervated both the inhibitory and excitatory neurons. Both types of neurons were contacted no only by non-GABAergic Purkinje cell terminals but also by GABA-containing terminals that were not labelled for L7 and by non-GABAergic, non-glycinergic terminals that formed excitatory synapses. Glycine-containing terminals were relatively scarce ( < 2% of the GABA-containing terminals) and frequently contacted the larger non-GABAergic, non-glycinergic neurons. To summarize, Purkinje cell axons evoke their effects through different types of neurons present in the cerebellar and vestibular nuclear complex. The observation that individual Purkinje cells can innervate both excitatory and inhibitory neurons suggests that the excitatory cerebellar output system and the inhibitory feedback to the inferior olive are controlled simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- C I De Zeeuw
- Department of Anatomy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Gacek RR, Schoonmaker J, Lyon MJ. Morphologic changes in superior vestibulo-ocular neurons and vestibular nerve following labyrinthectomy in the cat. ACTA OTO-LARYNGOLOGICA. SUPPLEMENTUM 1994; 518:3-12. [PMID: 7856448 DOI: 10.3109/00016489409124337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Morphologic changes in ipsilateral superior vestibulo-ocular neurons (SVON) and the vestibular nerve were measured in 4 cats 8 weeks after labyrinthectomy and 4 cats 1 year after labyrinthectomy. There is a 20% decrease in SVON size and 30% decrease in rough endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes with no change in the volume fractions of Golgi apparatus or mitochondria. In the central nervous system degeneration of the vestibular nerve terminals ipsilateral to the labyrinthectomy was represented by a 25% loss of synaptic profiles (SP) on SVON at 8 weeks and 57% loss of SP at 1 year after labyrinthectomy. There was no significant loss of fiber number in the vestibular nerve at 8 weeks post lesion but a 35% loss of fibers primarily of the large size at 1 year post lesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- R R Gacek
- Department Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse
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