Evidence for a rapid transmission in the cat vestibulo-ocular pathway

Reticular potentials evoked by electrical stimulation of individual semicircular canals

Responses of pontine reticular formation neurons following single shock electrical stimulation of single semicircular canals were recorded with tungsten microelectrodes in 40 curarized guinea-pigs. The field and unitary potentials obtained from 62 reticular sites, exhibited latency values ranging from 0.3 to 2.5 msec. The early latencies (0.3-0.5 msec) have been interpreted as responses mediated by primary vestibular fibres projecting directly to the reticular substance.

Horizontal vestibular nystagmus. I. Identification of medial vestibular neurones

1. The properities of inputs from the horizontal semi-circular canal to neurones of the medial vestibular nucleus have been studied intracellularly in the unanaesthetized encéphale isolé cat. 2. Secondary neurones of the bestibulo-abducens reflex arc were identified by their orthodromic response to labyrinthine stimulation and by antidromic excitation from the contralateral abducens nucleus. 3. The responses of medial vestibular cells receiving only labyrinthine in puts are also described. These were seen to be predominantly excitatory though IPSPs were observed in a few cases. 4. Identified vestibular neurones were intracellularly injected with procion yellow and showed different morphological characteristics correlated with function.