Vestibulospinal, reticulospinal and interstitiospinal pathways in the cat

A brainstem circuit for gravity-guided vertical navigation

The sensation of gravity anchors our perception of the environment and is crucial for navigation. However, the neural circuits that transform gravity into commands for navigation are undefined. We first determined that larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) navigate vertically by maintaining a consistent heading across a series of upward climb or downward dive bouts. Gravity-blind mutant fish swim with more variable heading and excessive veering, leading to inefficient vertical navigation. After targeted photoablation of ascending vestibular neurons and spinal projecting midbrain neurons, but not vestibulospinal neurons, vertical navigation was impaired. These data define a sensorimotor circuit that uses evolutionarily-conserved brainstem architecture to transform gravitational signals into persistent heading for vertical navigation. The work lays a foundation to understand how vestibular inputs allow animals to move efficiently through their environment.

Moving toward elucidating alternative motor pathway structures post-stroke: the value of spinal cord neuroimaging

Stroke results in varying levels of motor and sensory disability that have been linked to the neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation that occur in the infarct and peri-infarct regions within the brain. Specifically, previous research has identified a key role of the corticospinal tract in motor dysfunction and motor recovery post-stroke. Of note, neuroimaging studies have utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain to describe the timeline of neurodegeneration of the corticospinal tract in tandem with motor function following a stroke. However, research has suggested that alternate motor pathways may also underlie disease progression and the degree of functional recovery post-stroke. Here, we assert that expanding neuroimaging techniques beyond the brain could expand our knowledge of alternate motor pathway structure post-stroke. In the present work, we will highlight findings that suggest that alternate motor pathways contribute to post-stroke motor dysfunction and recovery, such as the reticulospinal and rubrospinal tract. Then we review imaging and electrophysiological techniques that evaluate alternate motor pathways in populations of stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders. We will then outline and describe spinal cord neuroimaging techniques being used in other neurodegenerative disorders that may provide insight into alternate motor pathways post-stroke.

Vertebral level specific modulation of paraspinal muscle activity based on vestibular signals during walking

Evoking muscle responses by electrical vestibular stimulation (EVS) may help to understand the contribution of the vestibular system to postural control. Although paraspinal muscles play a role in postural stability, the vestibulo-muscular coupling of these muscles during walking has rarely been studied. This study aimed to investigate how vestibular signals affect paraspinal muscle activity at different vertebral levels during walking with preferred and narrow step width. Sixteen healthy participants were recruited. Participants walked on a treadmill for 8 min at 78 steps/min and 2.8 km/h, at two different step width, either with or without EVS. Bipolar electromyography was recorded bilaterally from the paraspinal muscles at eight vertebral levels from cervical to lumbar. Coherence, gain, and delay of EVS and EMG responses were determined. Significant EVS-EMG coupling (P < 0.01) was found at ipsilateral and/or contralateral heel strikes. This coupling was mirrored between left and right relative to the midline of the trunk and between the higher and lower vertebral levels, i.e. a peak occurred at ipsilateral heel strike at lower levels, whereas it occurred at contralateral heel strike at higher levels. EVS-EMG coupling only partially coincided with peak muscle activity. EVS-EMG coherence slightly, but not significantly, increased when walking with narrow steps. No significant differences were found in gain and phase between the vertebral levels or step width conditions. In summary, vertebral level specific modulation of paraspinal muscle activity based on vestibular signals might allow a fast, synchronized, and spatially co-ordinated response along the trunk during walking. KEY POINTS: Mediolateral stabilization of gait requires an estimate of the state of the body, which is affected by vestibular afference. During gait, the heavy trunk segment is controlled by phasic paraspinal muscle activity and in rodents the medial and lateral vestibulospinal tracts activate these muscles. To gain insight in vestibulospinal connections in humans and their role in gait, we recorded paraspinal surface EMG of cervical to lumbar paraspinal muscles, and characterized coherence, gain and delay between EMG and electrical vestibular stimulation, during slow walking. Vestibular stimulation caused phasic, vertebral level specific modulation of paraspinal muscle activity at delays of around 40 ms, which was mirrored between left, lower and right, upper vertebral levels. Our results indicate that vestibular afference causes fast, synchronized, and spatially co-ordinated responses of the paraspinal muscles along the trunk, that simultaneously contribute to stabilizing the centre of mass trajectory and to keeping the head upright.

Evidence of a Vestibular Origin for Crossed-Sternocleidomastoid Muscle Responses to Air-Conducted Sound

OBJECTIVES

Small, excitatory surface potentials can sometimes be recorded from the contralateral sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) following monaural acoustic stimulation. Little is known about the physiological properties of these crossed reflexes. In this study, we sought the properties of crossed SCM responses and through comparison with other cochlear and vestibular myogenic potentials, their likely receptor origin.

DESIGN

Surface potentials were recorded from the ipsilateral and contralateral SCM and postauricular (PAM) muscles of 11 healthy volunteers, 4 patients with superior canal dehiscence and 1 with profound hearing loss. Air-conducted clicks of 105 dB nHL and tone bursts (250 to 4000 Hz) of 100 dB nHL were presented monaurally through TDH 49 headphones during head elevation. Click-evoked responses were recorded under two conditions of gaze in random order: gaze straight ahead and rotated hard toward the contralateral recording electrodes. Amplitudes (corrected and uncorrected) and latencies for crossed SCM responses were compared with vestibular (ipsilateral SCM) and cochlear (PAM) responses between groups and across the different recording conditions.

RESULTS

Surface waveforms were biphasic; positive-negative for the ipsilateral SCM, and negative-positive for the contralateral SCM and PAM. There were significant differences in the amplitudes and latencies (p = 0.004) for click responses of healthy controls across recording sites. PAM responses had the largest mean-corrected amplitudes (2.3 ± 2.8) and longest latencies (13.0 ± 1.2 msec), compared with ipsilateral (1.6 ± 0.5; 12.0 ± 0.7 msec) and contralateral (0.8 ± 0.3; 10.4 ± 1.0 msec) SCM responses. Uncorrected amplitudes and muscle activation for PAM increased by 104.4% and 46.8% with lateral gaze respectively, whereas SCM responses were not significantly affected. Click responses of patients with superior canal dehiscence followed a similar latency, amplitude, and gaze modulation trend as controls. SCM responses were preserved in the patient with profound hearing loss, yet all PAM were absent. There were significant differences in the frequency tuning of the three reflexes (p < 0.001). Tuning curves of healthy controls were flat for PAM and down sloping for ipsilateral and contralateral SCM responses. For superior canal dehiscence, they were rising for PAM and slightly down sloping for SCM responses.

CONCLUSIONS

Properties of crossed SCM responses were similar, though not identical, to those of ipsilateral SCM responses and are likely to be predominantly vestibular in origin. They are unlikely to represent volume conduction from the PAM as they were unaffected by lateral gaze, were shorter in latency, and had different tuning properties. The influence of crossed vestibulo-collic pathways should be considered when interpreting cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials recorded under conditions of binaural stimulation.

Investigating short latency subcortical vestibular projections in humans: what have we learned?

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are now widely used for the noninvasive assessment of vestibular function and diagnosis in humans. This review focuses on the origin, properties, and mechanisms of cervical VEMPs and ocular VEMPs; how these reflexes relate to reports of vestibular projections to brain stem and cervical targets; and the physiological role of (otolithic) cervical and ocular reflexes. The evidence suggests that both VEMPs are likely to represent the effects of excitation of irregularly firing otolith afferents. While the air-conducted cervical VEMP appears to mainly arise from excitation of saccular receptors, the ocular VEMP evoked by bone-conducted stimulation, including impulsive bone-conducted stimuli, mainly arises from utricular afferents. The surface responses are generated by brief changes in motor unit firing. The effects that have been demonstrated are likely to represent otolith-dependent vestibulocollic and vestibulo-ocular reflexes, both linear and torsional. These observations add to previous reports of short latency otolith projections to the target muscles in the neck (sternocleidomastoid and splenius) and extraocular muscles (the inferior oblique). New insights have been provided by the investigation and application of these techniques.

Balance Control Mediated by Vestibular Circuits Directing Limb Extension or Antagonist Muscle Co-activation

Maintaining balance after an external perturbation requires modification of ongoing motor plans and the selection of contextually appropriate muscle activation patterns that respect body and limb position. We have used the vestibular system to generate sensory-evoked transitions in motor programming. In the face of a rapid balance perturbation, the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) generates exclusive extensor muscle activation and selective early extension of the hindlimb, followed by the co-activation of extensor and flexor muscle groups. The temporal separation in EMG response to balance perturbation reflects two distinct cell types within the LVN that generate different phases of this motor program. Initially, an LVN_extensor population directs an extension movement that reflects connections with extensor, but not flexor, motor neurons. A distinct LVN_{co-activation} population initiates muscle co-activation via the pontine reticular nucleus. Thus, distinct circuits within the LVN generate different elements of a motor program involved in the maintenance of balance.

The Contributions of Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials and Acoustic Vestibular Stimulation to Our Understanding of the Vestibular System

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are short-latency muscle reflexes typically recorded from the neck or eye muscles with surface electrodes. They are used clinically to assess otolith function, but are also interesting as they can provide information about the vestibular system and its activation by sound and vibration. Since the introduction of VEMPs more than 25 years ago, VEMPs have inspired animal and human research on the effects of acoustic vestibular stimulation on the vestibular organs, their projections and the postural muscles involved in vestibular reflexes. Using a combination of recording techniques, including single motor unit recordings, VEMP studies have enhanced our understanding of the excitability changes underlying the sound-evoked vestibulo-collic and vestibulo-ocular reflexes. Studies in patients with diseases of the vestibular system, such as superior canal dehiscence and Meniere's disease, have shown how acoustic vestibular stimulation is affected by physical changes in the vestibule, and how sound-evoked reflexes can detect these changes and their resolution in clinical contexts. This review outlines the advances in our understanding of the vestibular system that have occurred following the renewed interest in sound and vibration as a result of the VEMP.

Animal Models of Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials: The Past, Present, and Future

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) provide a simple and cost-effective means to assess the patency of vestibular reflexes. VEMP testing constitutes a core screening method in a clinical battery that probes vestibular function. The confidence one has in interpreting the results arising from VEMP testing is linked to a fundamental understanding of the underlying functional anatomy and physiology. In this review, we will summarize the key role that studies across a range of animal models have fulfilled in contributing to this understanding, covering key findings regarding the mechanisms of excitation in the sensory periphery, the processing of sensory information in central networks, and the distribution of reflexive output to the motor periphery. Although VEMPs are often touted for their simplicity, work in animals models have emphasized how vestibular reflexes operate within a broader behavioral and functional context, and as such vestibular reflexes are influenced by multisensory integration, governed by task demands, and follow principles of muscle recruitment. We will conclude with considerations of future questions, and the ways in which studies in current and emerging animal models can contribute to further use and refinement of this test for both basic and clinical research purposes.

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials

The vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) is a short-latency potential evoked through activation of vestibular receptors using sound or vibration. It is generated by modulated electromyographic signals either from the sternocleidomastoid muscle for the cervical VEMP (cVEMP) or the inferior oblique muscle for the ocular VEMP (oVEMP). These reflexes appear to originate from the otolith organs and thus complement existing methods of vestibular assessment, which are mainly based upon canal function. This review considers the basis, methodology, and current applications of the cVEMP and oVEMP in the assessment and diagnosis of vestibular disorders, both peripheral and central.

The transformation of synaptic to system plasticity in motor output from the sacral cord of the adult mouse

Synaptic plasticity is fundamental in shaping the output of neural networks. The transformation of synaptic plasticity at the cellular level into plasticity at the system level involves multiple factors, including behavior of local networks of interneurons. Here we investigate the synaptic to system transformation for plasticity in motor output in an in vitro preparation of the adult mouse spinal cord. System plasticity was assessed from compound action potentials (APs) in spinal ventral roots, which were generated simultaneously by the axons of many motoneurons (MNs). Synaptic plasticity was assessed from intracellular recordings of MNs. A computer model of the MN pool was used to identify the middle steps in the transformation from synaptic to system behavior. Two input systems that converge on the same MN pool were studied: one sensory and one descending. The two synaptic input systems generated very different motor outputs, with sensory stimulation consistently evoking short-term depression (STD) whereas descending stimulation had bimodal plasticity: STD at low frequencies but short-term facilitation (STF) at high frequencies. Intracellular and pharmacological studies revealed contributions from monosynaptic excitation and stimulus time-locked inhibition but also considerable asynchronous excitation sustained from local network activity. The computer simulations showed that STD in the monosynaptic excitatory input was the primary driver of the system STD in the sensory input whereas network excitation underlies the bimodal plasticity in the descending system. These results provide insight on the roles of plasticity in the monosynaptic and polysynaptic inputs converging on the same MN pool to overall motor plasticity.

A neonatal mouse spinal cord injury model for assessing post-injury adaptive plasticity and human stem cell integration

Despite limited regeneration capacity, partial injuries to the adult mammalian spinal cord can elicit variable degrees of functional recovery, mediated at least in part by reorganization of neuronal circuitry. Underlying mechanisms are believed to include synaptic plasticity and collateral sprouting of spared axons. Because plasticity is higher in young animals, we developed a spinal cord compression (SCC) injury model in the neonatal mouse to gain insight into the potential for reorganization during early life. The model provides a platform for high-throughput assessment of functional synaptic connectivity that is also suitable for testing the functional integration of human stem and progenitor cell-derived neurons being considered for clinical cell replacement strategies. SCC was generated at T9–T11 and functional recovery was assessed using an integrated approach including video kinematics, histology, tract tracing, electrophysiology, and high-throughput optical recording of descending inputs to identified spinal neurons. Dramatic degeneration of axons and synaptic contacts was evident within 24 hours of SCC, and loss of neurons in the injured segment was evident for at least a month thereafter. Initial hindlimb paralysis was paralleled by a loss of descending inputs to lumbar motoneurons. Within 4 days of SCC and progressively thereafter, hindlimb motility began to be restored and descending inputs reappeared, but with examples of atypical synaptic connections indicating a reorganization of circuitry. One to two weeks after SCC, hindlimb motility approached sham control levels, and weight-bearing locomotion was virtually indistinguishable in SCC and sham control mice. Genetically labeled human fetal neural progenitor cells injected into the injured spinal cord survived for at least a month, integrated into the host tissue and began to differentiate morphologically. This integrative neonatal mouse model provides opportunities to explore early adaptive plasticity mechanisms underlying functional recovery as well as the capacity for human stem cell-derived neurons to integrate functionally into spinal circuits.

Spinal commissural connections to motoneurons controlling the primate hand and wrist

Left-right coordination is essential for locomotor movements and is partly mediated by spinal commissural systems. Such coordination is also essential for reaching and manipulation in primates, but the role of spinal commissural systems here has not been studied. We investigated commissural connectivity to motoneurons innervating forelimb muscles using intracellular recordings in acutely anesthetized macaque monkeys. In 57 of 81 motoneurons, synaptic responses (52 of 57 excitatory) were evoked after contralateral intraspinal microstimulation in the gray matter (cISMS; 300 μA maximum current intensity). Some responses (15 of 57) occurred at latencies compatible with a monosynaptic linkage, including in motoneurons projecting to intrinsic hand muscles (9 cells). Three pieces of evidence suggest that these effects reflected the action of commissural interneurons. In two cells, preceding cISMS with stimulation of the contralateral medial brainstem descending pathways facilitated the motoneuron responses, suggesting that cISMS acted on cell bodies whose excitability was increased by descending inputs. Pairing cISMS with stimulation of the contralateral corticospinal tract yielded no evidence of response occlusion in 16 cells tested, suggesting that the effects were not merely axon reflexes generated by stimulation of corticospinal axon branches, which cross the midline. Finally, stimulation of contralateral peripheral nerves evoked responses in 28 of 52 motoneurons (7 of 9 projecting to the hand). Our results demonstrate the existence of commissural neurons with access to spinal motoneurons in primate cervical spinal cord that receive inputs from the periphery as well as descending pathways. Most importantly, commissural neurons also innervate motoneurons of intrinsic hand muscles.

New perspectives on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Although the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) measured from the cervical muscles (cVEMP, cervical VEMP) is well described and has documented clinical utility, its analogue recorded from the extraocular muscles (oVEMP, ocular VEMP) has been described only recently and is currently emerging as an additional test of otolith function. This review will, therefore, summarize recent developments in VEMP research with a focus on the oVEMP.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies suggest that the oVEMP is produced by otolith afferents in the superior vestibular nerve division, whereas the cVEMP evoked by sound is thought to be an inferior vestibular nerve reflex. Correspondingly, the oVEMP correlates better with caloric and subjective visual vertical tests than sound-cVEMPs. cVEMPs are more complicated than often thought, as shown by the presence of crossed responses and conflicting results of recent vibration studies. Altered inner ear mechanics produced by the vestibular diseases superior semicircular canal dehiscence and Ménière's disease lead to changes in the preferred frequency of the oVEMP and cVEMP.

SUMMARY

The oVEMP provides complementary diagnostic information to the cVEMP and is likely to be a useful addition to the diagnostic test battery in neuro-otology.

Cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials in vestibular neuritis: comparison between air- and bone-conducted stimulation

To clarify the changes of cervical (cVEMP) and ocular (oVEMP) vestibular evoked myogenic potentials induced by air-conducted sound (ACS) and bone-conducted vibration (BCV) in patients with vestibular neuritis (VN), patients with VN (n = 30) and normal controls (n = 45) underwent recording of cVEMP and oVEMP in response to ACS (1,000 Hz, 5 ms, tone bursts) and BCV (500 Hz, short tone burst). Patients with VN showed a high proportion of oVEMP abnormalities in response to both ACS (80.0 %) and BCV at the forehead (Fz, 73.3 %) or the mastoid (76.7 %). In contrast, cVEMPs were mostly normal with both ACS and BCV in the patients. The dissociations in the abnormalities of cVEMP and oVEMP induced by ACS and BCV at the mastoids and at the forehead in patients with VN suggest that oVEMP reflects functions of the superior vestibular nerve and most likely the utricular function. The results of our study suggest that oVEMP induced by either ACS or BCV appears to depend on integrity of the superior vestibular nerve, possibly due to the utricular afferents travelling in it. In contrast, cVEMP elicited by either ACS or BCV may reflect function of the saccular afferents running in the inferior vestibular nerve.

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials evoked by brief interaural head acceleration: properties and possible origin

The vestibular system responds to head acceleration by producing compensatory reflexes in the eyes and postural muscles. In this study, we investigated the effect of brief interaural acceleration on the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) in 10 normal subjects and 10 patients with bilateral (bVL) or unilateral vestibular loss (uVL). The stimuli were delivered with a handheld minishaker and tendon hammer over the mastoid and produced relatively pure interaural head acceleration with little rotation (mean peak acceleration: 0.14 g at 3.3 ms). VEMPs were recorded from the neck muscles and were characterized in normal subjects by a positive/negative potential ipsilateral to the stimulated side (peak latencies: 15.1 and 22.6 ms) and a positive response contralaterally (20.3 ms), which was sometimes preceded by a negativity (14.5 ms). These peaks were absent in patients with bVL, confirming their vestibular dependence. In the patients with uVL, medial acceleration of the intact ear produced bilateral responses, an initial positivity on the intact side, and a negativity on the affected side, whereas lateral acceleration produced only a late positivity on the intact side. As the acceleration was primarily in the horizontal plane, it is likely to have activated utricular receptors. Consistent with this, we found that VEMPs are very sensitive to the direction of head acceleration and have features consistent with the utriculocollic projections demonstrated in animals.

Properties and axonal trajectories of posterior semicircular canal nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons

We studied the axonal projections of vestibulospinal neurons activated from the posterior semicircular canal. The axonal projection level, axonal pathway, and location of the vestibulospinal neurons originating from the PC were investigated in seven decerebrated cats. Selective electrical stimulation was applied to the PC nerve, and extracellular recordings in the vestibular nuclei were performed. The properties of the PC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were then studied. To estimate the neural pathway in the spinal cord, floating electrodes were placed at the ipsilateral (i) and contralateral (c) lateral vestibulospinal tract (LVST) and medial vestibulospinal tract (MVST) at the C1/C2 junction. To elucidate the projection level, floating electrodes were placed at i-LVST and MVST at the C3, T1, and L3 segments in the spinal cord. Collision block test between orthodromic inputs from the PC nerve and antidromic inputs from the spinal cord verified the existence of the vestibulospinal neurons in the vestibular nuclei. Most (44/47) of the PC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons responded to orthodromic stimulation to the PC nerve with a short (<1.4 ms) latency, indicating that they were second-order vestibulospinal neurons. The rest (3/47) responded with a longer (>/=1.4 ms) latency, indicating the existence of polysynaptic connections. In 36/47 PC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons, the axonal pathway was histologically verified to lie in the spinal cord. The axons of 17/36 vestibulospinal neurons projected to the i-LVST, whereas 14 neurons projected to the MVST, and 5 to the c-LVST. The spinal segment levels of projection of these neurons elucidated that the axons of most (15/17) of vestibulospinal neurons passing through the i-LVST reached the L3 segment level; none (0/14) of the neurons passing through the MVST extended to the L3 segment level; most (13/14) of them did not descend lower than the C3 segment level. In relation to the latency and the pathway, 33/36 PC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were second-order neurons, whereas the remaining three were polysynaptic neurons. Of these, 33 second-order vestibulospinal neurons, 16 passed through the i-LVST, while 13 and 4 descended through the MVST and c-LVST, respectively. The remaining three were polysynaptic neurons. Histological analysis showed that most of the PC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were located within a specific area in the medial part of the lateral vestibular nucleus and the rostral part of the descending vestibular nucleus. In conclusion, it was suggested that PC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons that were located within a focal area of the vestibular nuclei have strong connections with the lower segments of the spinal cord and are related to postural stability that is maintained by the short latency vestibulospinal reflex.

Effects of selective cochlear toxicity and vestibular deafferentation on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in guinea pigs

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that sound-evoked myogenic potentials on the guinea pig sternocleidomastoid muscle (SM) originate from the vestibular end organ and not from the cochlea of the inner ear.

OBJECTIVE

Studies in animals of the sound evoked vestibular myogenic potentials on the SM should aid in elucidating the pathway of the vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP). However, details of the pathway of the VEMP remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to clarify aspects of this pathway.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the present study, short latency biphasic myogenic potentials on the SM in guinea pigs were induced by an intense brief sound.

RESULTS

The thresholds of the potentials were 67 dB SPL above those of the auditory brainstem response (ABR). The potentials were eliminated by a vestibular deafferentation, but were observed after selective cochlea toxicity using an amikacin injection.

Axonal pathways and projection levels of anterior semicircular canal nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons in cats

Using collision tests of orthodromically and antidromically generated spikes, we studied the axonal pathways, axonal projection levels, and soma location of anterior semicircular canal (AC) nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons in decerebrate cats. AC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons (n=74) were mainly located in the ventral portion of the lateral vestibular nuclei and the rostral portion of the descending vestibular nucleus, which is consistent with previous studies. Of these neurons, 15% projected through the ipsilateral (i-) lateral vestibulospinal tract (LVST), 74% projected through the medial vestibulospinal tract (MVST), and 11% projected through the contralateral (c-) LVST. The vast majority (78%) of AC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were activated antidromically only from the cervical segment of the spinal cord; 15% of neurons were activated from the T1 segment and only one neuron was activated from the L3 segment. AC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons may primarily target the neck muscles and thus contribute to the vestibulocollic reflex. Most of the c-LVST neurons were also activated antidromically from the oculomotor nucleus, suggesting that they are closely related to the control of combined eye-head movements.

Otolith and canal integration on single vestibular neurons in cats

In this review, based primarily on work from our laboratory, but related to previous studies, we summarize what is known about the convergence of vestibular afferent inputs onto single vestibular neurons activated by selective stimulation of individual vestibular nerve branches. Horizontal semicircular canal (HC), anterior semicircular canal (AC), posterior semicircular canal (PC), utricular (UT), and saccular (SAC) nerves were selectively stimulated in decerebrate cats. All recorded neurons were classified as either projection neurons, which consisted of vestibulospinal (VS), vestibulo-oculospinal (VOS), vestibulo-ocular (VO) neurons, or non-projection neurons, which we simply term "vestibular'' (V) neurons. The first three types could be successfully activated antidromically from oculomotor/trochlear nuclei and/or spinal cord, and the last type could not be activated antidromically from either site. A total of 1228 neurons were activated by stimulation of various nerve pair combinations. Convergent neurons were located in the caudoventral part of the lateral, the rostral part of the descending, and the medial vestibular nuclei. Otolith-activated vestibular neurons in the superior vestibular nucleus were extremely rare. A high percentage of neurons received excitatory inputs from two nerve pairs, a small percentage received reciprocal convergent inputs and even fewer received inhibitory inputs from both nerves. More than 30% of vestibular neurons received convergent inputs from vertical semicircular canal/otolith nerve pairs. In contrast, only half as many received convergent inputs from HC/otolith-nerve pairs, implying that convergent input from vertical semicircular canal and otolith-nerve pairs may play a more important role than that played by inputs from horizontal semicircular canal and otolith-nerve pairs. Convergent VS neurons projected through the ipsilateral lateral vestibulospinal tract (i-LVST) and the medial vestibulospinal tract (MVST). Almost all the VOS neurons projected through the MVST. Convergent neurons projecting to the oculomotor/trochlear nuclei were much fewer in number than those projecting to the spinal cord. Some of the convergent neurons that receive both canal and otolith input may contribute to the short-latency pathway of the vestibulocollic reflex. The functional significance of these convergences is discussed.

Properties of horizontal semicircular canal nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons in cats

Axonal pathways, projection levels, and locations of horizontal semicircular canal (HC) nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were studied. The HC nerve was selectively stimulated. Vestibulospinal neurons were activated antidromically with four stimulating electrodes, inserted bilaterally into the lateral vestibulospinal tracts (LVST) and medial vestibulospinal tracts (MVST) at the C1/C2 junction. Stimulating electrodes were also positioned in the C3, T1, and L3 segments and in the oculomotor nuclei. Most HC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were located in the ventral portion of the medial, lateral, and the descending nuclei. Among the 157 HC nerve-activated vestibular neurons, 83 were antidromically activated by stimulation at the C1/C2 junction. Of these 83 neurons, axonal pathways of 56 HC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were determined. Most (48/56) of these had axons that descended through the MVST, with the remainder (8 neurons) having axons that descended through the ipsilateral (i-) LVST. Laterality of the axons' trajectories through the MVST was investigated. The majority of vestibulospinal neurons (24/28) with axons descending through the contralateral MVST were also antidromically activated from the oculomotor nucleus, whereas almost all vestibulospinal neurons (19/20) with axons descending through the i-MVST were not. Most HC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were activated antidromically only from the C1/C2 or C3 segments. Only one neuron that was antidromically activated from the T1 segment had an axon that descended through the i-LVST. None of the HC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons were antidromically activated from the L3 segment. It is likely that the majority of HC nerve-activated vestibulospinal neurons terminate in the cervical cord and have strong connections with neck motoneurons.

Behavioral arrest: in search of the neural control system

Scientists have spent hundreds of years trying to understand how the brain controls movement. Why has there been so little interest in knowing how the brain STOPS movement? This review calls attention to behavioral phenomena in which an animal or human undergoes temporary total-body arrest of movement, that is, behavioral arrest (BA). These states can be actively induced by visual stimuli, by body and limb manipulations, and by drugs. Historically, these states have been considered as unrelated, and their literature does not cross-connect. What is known about the causal mechanisms is scant, limited mostly to implication of the brainstem in manipulation-induced BA and dopaminergic blockade in the striatum in the case of drug-induced BA. The possibility has not been experimentally tested that all of these states share with each other not only an active global immobility in which awkward postures are maintained, but also underlying neural mechanisms. This review identifies key brainstem, diencephalic, and basal forebrain areas that seem to be involved in causing BA. We review the evidence that suggest a possible role in BA for the following brain structures: entopeduncular nucleus, medullary and pontine reticular zones, parabrachial region, pedunculopontine nucleus and nearby areas, substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus, ventromedial thalamic nucleus, and zona incerta. Such areas may operate as a BA control system. Confirmation of which brain areas operate collectively in BA would require testing of several kinds of BA in the same animals with the same kinds of experimental tests. Areas and mechanisms might be elucidated through a strategic combination of the following research approaches: imaging (fMRI, c-fos), lesions (of areas, of afferent and efferent pathways), chemical microstimulation, and electrical recording (of multiple units and field potentials, with an emphasis on testing coherence among areas). We suggest the working hypothesis that BA is created and sustained by coherent, perhaps oscillatory, activity among a group of basal forebrain and brainstem areas that collectively disrupt the normal spinal and supraspinal sequencing controls of reciprocal actions on the extensors and flexors that otherwise produce movement.

Vestibulospinal control of reflex and voluntary head movement

Secondary canal-related vestibulospinal neurons respond to an externally applied movement of the head in the form of a firing rate modulation that encodes the angular velocity of the movement, and reflects in large part the input "head velocity in space" signal carried by the semicircular canal afferents. In addition to the head velocity signal, the vestibulospinal neurons can carry a more processed signal that includes eye position or eye velocity, or both (see Boyle on ref. list). To understand the control signals used by the central vestibular pathways in the generation of reflex head stabilization, such as the vestibulocollic reflex (VCR), and the maintenance of head posture, it is essential to record directly from identified vestibulospinal neurons projecting to the cervical spinal segments in the alert animal. The present report discusses two key features of the primate vestibulospinal system. First, the termination morphology of vestibulospinal axons in the cervical segments of the spinal cord is described to lay the structural basis of vestibulospinal control of head/neck posture and movement. And second, the head movement signal content carried by the same class of secondary vestibulospinal neurons during the actual execution of the VCR and during self-generated, or active, rapid head movements is presented.

Input-output functions of mammalian motoneurons

Our intent in this review was to consider the relationship between the biophysical properties of motoneurons and the mechanisms by which they transduce the synaptic inputs they receive into changes in their firing rates. Our emphasis has been on experimental results obtained over the past twenty years, which have shown that motoneurons are just as complex and interesting as other central neurons. This work has shown that motoneurons are endowed with a rich complement of active dendritic conductances, and flexible control of both somatic and dendritic channels by endogenous neuromodulators. Although this new information requires some revision of the simple view of motoneuron input-output properties that was prevalent in the early 1980's (see sections 2.3 and 2.10), the basic aspects of synaptic transduction by motoneurons can still be captured by a relatively simple input-output model (see section 2.3, equations 1-3). It remains valid to describe motoneuron recruitment as a product of the total synaptic current delivered to the soma, the effective input resistance of the motoneuron and the somatic voltage threshold for spike initiation (equations 1 and 2). However, because of the presence of active channels activated in the subthreshold range, both the delivery of synaptic current and the effective input resistance depend upon membrane potential. In addition, activation of metabotropic receptors by achetylcholine, glutamate, noradrenaline, serotonin, substance P and thyrotropin releasing factor (TRH) can alter the properties of various voltage- and calcium-sensitive channels and thereby affect synaptic current delivery and input resistance. Once motoneurons are activated, their steady-state rate of repetitive discharge is linearly related to the amount of injected or synaptic current reaching the soma (equation 3). However, the slope of this relation, the minimum discharge rate and the threshold current for repetitive discharge are all subject to neuromodulatory control. There are still a number of unresolved issues concerning the control of motoneuron discharge by synaptic inputs. Under dynamic conditions, when synaptic input is rapidly changing, time- and activity-dependent changes in the state of ionic channels will alter both synaptic current delivery to the spike-generating conductances and the relation between synaptic current and discharge rate. There is at present no general quantitative expression for motoneuron input-output properties under dynamic conditions. Even under steady-state conditions, the biophysical mechanisms underlying the transfer of synaptic current from the dendrites to the soma are not well understood, due to the paucity of direct recordings from motoneuron dendrites. It seems likely that resolving these important issues will keep motoneuron afficiandoes well occupied during the next twenty years.

Relation between axon morphology in C1 spinal cord and spatial properties of medial vestibulospinal tract neurons in the cat

Twenty-one secondary medial vestibulospinal tract neurons were recorded intraaxonally in the ventromedial funiculi of the C1 spinal cord in decerebrate, paralyzed cats. Antidromic stimulation in C6 and the oculomotor nucleus identified the projection pattern of each neuron. Responses to sinusoidal, whole-body rotations in many planes in three-dimensional space were characterized before injection of horseradish peroxidase or Neurobiotin. The spatial response properties of 19 neurons were described by a maximum activation direction vector (MAD), which defines the axis and direction of rotation that maximally excites the neuron. The other two neurons had spatio-temporal convergent behavior and no MAD was calculated. Collateral morphologies were reconstructed from serial frontal sections to reveal terminal fields in the C1 gray matter. Axons gave off multiple collaterals that terminated ipsilaterally to the stem axon. Collaterals of individual axons rarely overlapped longitudinally but projected to similar regions in the ventral horn when viewed in transverse sections. The number of primary collaterals in C1 was different for vestibulo-collic, vestibulo-oculo-collic, and C6-projecting neurons: on average one every 1.34, 1.72, and 4.25 mm, respectively. The heaviest arborization and most terminal boutons were seen in the ventral horn, in laminae VIII and IX. Varicosities on terminal branches in lamina IX were observed adjacent to large cell bodies-putative neck motoneurons-in counterstained tissue. Some collaterals had branches that extended dorsally to lamina VII. Neurons with different spatial properties had terminal fields in different regions of the ventral horn. Axons with type I responses and MADs near those of a semicircular canal pair had widely distributed collateral branches and numerous terminations in the dorsomedial, ventromedial, and spinal accessory nuclei and in lamina VIII. Axons with type I responses that suggested convergent canal pair input, with type II responses, and with spatio-temporal convergent behavior had smaller terminal fields. Some neurons with these more complex spatial properties projected to the dorsomedial and spinal accessory but not to the ventromedial nuclei. Others had focused projections to dorsolateral regions of the ventral horn with few branches in the motor nuclei.

Input patterns and pathways from the six semicircular canals to motoneurons of neck muscles. II. The longissimus and semispinalis muscle groups

To reveal patterns of input from the six semicircular canals to motoneurons of various neck muscles and their relationship to the mechanical actions of individual neck muscles, patterns of input to neck motoneurons of the longissimus and the semispinalis muscle groups were investigated in the upper cervical spinal cord of anesthetized cats. Intracellular potentials were recorded from motoneurons of the longissimus muscle group (obliquus capitis superior muscle, OCS; splenius muscle, SPL; longissimus muscle, LONG) and the semispinalis muscle group (biventer cervicis muscle, BIV; complexus muscle, COMP), and effects of separate electrical stimulation of the six ampullary nerves on them were analyzed in each preparation. Neck motoneurons usually received convergent inputs from all of the six ampullary nerves, and motoneurons that supplied a particular muscle had a homogeneous pattern of input from the six ampullary nerves. Two different patterns of input were identified for motoneurons of these two muscle groups; one pattern for motoneurons of the longissimus muscle group and the other pattern for motoneurons of the semispinalis muscle group. Motoneurons of the OCS, the SPL, and the LONG muscles received excitation from the three contralateral ampullary nerves and inhibition from the three ipsilateral ampullary nerves. BIV and COMP motoneurons received excitation from the bilateral anterior canal nerves (ACNs) and the contralateral canal nerve (LCN) and inhibition from the bilateral posterior canal nerves (PCNs) and the ipsilateral LCN. Latencies of postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) evoked by stimulation of each of the six ampullary nerves indicated that the earliest component of excitatory PSPs (EPSPs) and inhibitory PSPs (IPSPs) was disynaptic in these motoneurons. However, trisynaptic IPSPs were evoked by stimulation of the contralateral PCN in a considerable number of BIV and COMP motoneurons. In OCS, SPL, and LONG motoneurons, all of the excitation from the contralateral and all of the inhibition from the ipsilateral ampullary nerves were mediated through the ipsilateral medial longitudinal fascicle (MLF). In BIV and COMP motoneurons, disynaptic excitation from the contralateral ACN and LCN and disynaptic inhibition from the ipsilateral LCN and bilateral PCNs were mediated through the ipsilateral MLF, whereas disynaptic excitation from the ipsilateral ACN was mediated through the ipsilateral lateral vestibulospinal tract. The patterns of semicircular canal input to neck motoneurons of these two muscle groups are related closely to the mechanical actions of the individual neck muscles and the optimal stimulus to the semicircular canals such that the connections will tend to stabilize head positions in response to head perturbations.

Primary motor cortex influences on the descending and ascending systems

The motor cortex plays a crucial role in the co-ordination of movement and posture. This is possible because the pyramidal tract fibres have access both directly and through collateral branches to structures governing eye, head, neck trunk and limb musculature. Pyramidal tract axons also directly reach the dorsal laminae of the spinal cord and the dorsal column nuclei, thus aiding in the selection of the sensory ascendant transmission. No other neurones in the brain besides pyramidal tract cells have such a wide access to different structures within the central nervous system. The majority of the pyramidal tract fibres that originate in the motor cortex and that send collateral branches to multiple supraspinal structures do not reach the spinal cord. Also, the great majority of the corticospinal neurones that emit multiple intracraneal collateral branches terminate at the cervical spinal cord level. The pyramidal tract fibres directed to the dorsal column nuclei that send collateral branches to supraspinal structures also show a clear tendency to terminate at supraspinal and cervical cord levels. These facts suggest that a substantial co-ordination between descending and ascending pathways might be produced by the same motor cortex axons at both supraspinal and cervical spinal cord sites. This may imply that the motor cortex co-ordination will be mostly directed to motor responses involving eye-neck-forelimb muscle synergies. The review makes special emphasis in the available evidence pointing to the role of the motor cortex in co-ordinating the activities of both descending and ascending pathways related to somatomotor integration and control. The motor cortex may function to co-operatively select a unique motor command by selectively filter sensory information and by co-ordinating the activities of the descending systems related to the control of distal and proximal muscles.

Four convergent patterns of input from the six semicircular canals to motoneurons of different neck muscles in the upper cervical cord

This study was performed to investigate the pattern of input and the pathways from the six semicircular canals to motoneurons of various neck muscles in anesthetized cats. Intracellular postsynaptic potentials from neck motoneurons were recorded in response to electrical stimulation of the six ampullary nerves. The results showed that motoneurons of a particular neck muscle have a homogeneous convergent pattern of input from the six semicircular canals; there are four patterns of input from the six semicircular canals to motoneurons of various neck muscles; and the trisynaptic connection between the semicircular canal nerves and neck motoneurons was identified in addition to the disynaptic connection.

Distribution of vestibulospinal synaptic input to cat triceps surae motoneurons

We applied supramaximal, repetitive stimulation to the lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiters' nucleus, DN) at 200 Hz to evoke stead-state synaptic potentials in ipsilateral triceps surae motoneurons of the cat. The effective synaptic currents underlying these potentials were measured using a modified voltage-clamp technique. The steady-state effective synaptic currents evoked by activating DN were generally small and depolarizing (mean 2.5 +/- 2.6 nA). DN stimulation generated hyperpolarizing synaptic currents in 2 of the 34 triceps motoneurons studied. The effective synaptic currents from DN tended to be larger in putative type F motoneurons than in putative type S cells (type F mean 3.0 +/- 3.1 nA; type S mean 1.8 +/- 1.0 nA). There was a statistically significant difference between the inputs to putative type FF and putative type S motoneurons (mean difference 2.8 nA, t = 2.87, P < 0.01). The synaptic input from DN to medial gastrocnemius motoneurons had approximately the same amplitude as that from homonymous Ia afferent fibers. However, the distribution of DN input with respect to putative motor unit type was the opposite of that previously reported for Ia afferent input. Thus, the synaptic input from DN might act to compress the range of recruitment thresholds within the motoneuron pool and thereby increase the gain of its input-output function.

An electrophysiological study of descending projections to the lumbar spinal cord in adult male rats

Recent anatomical evidence suggests that descending projections from the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVe) and gigantocellular reticular nucleus (Gi) innervate areas of the lumbar spinal cord near the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB). To confirm this finding electrophysiologically, we recorded and mapped averaged field potentials within the lumbar spinal cord of male rats in response to electrical stimulation of the LVe or Gi and compared these with the location of averaged field potentials evoked at the same levels by stimulation of SNB axons in the bulbocavernosus (BC) nerve. Stimulation of the LVe or the Gi produced negative field potentials that were largest at sites 200-450 microns dorsolateral to SNB somata. In an attempt to verify that this region innervates SNB motoneurons, the BC motor nerve volley was recorded in response to microstimulation at various depths within the spinal cord. Stimulation of sites dorsolateral and lateral to the SNB somata elicited volleys in the BC nerve that had two components. The onset latency of the earlier component was similar to the antidromic latency of SNB motoneurons to BC nerve stimulation, and the threshold for eliciting this component was lowest at sites in the electrode track near SNB somata. Thus, the earlier component may be evoked by direct stimulation of the SNB motoneurons. The threshold for evoking the later component was lowest at the sites 230-380 microns dorsolateral to SNB somata, suggesting that this component involves activation of other neurons. These results indicate that the LVe and Gi may modulate the activity of SNB motoneurons through interneurons located in a region several hundred microns away from SNB somata.

The neuronal organization of horizontal semicircular canalactivated inhibitory vestibulocollic neurons in the cat

1. The somatic location and axonal projections of inhibitory vestibular nucleus neurons activated by the horizontal semicircular canal nerve (HCN) were studied in anesthetized cats. Cats were anesthetized with ketamine hydrochloride and pentobarbital sodium. 2. Intracellular recordings were obtained from 11 neck extensor motoneurons which were identified by antidromic activation from the dosal rami (DR) in the C1 segment. Stimulation of the ipsilateral (i-) HCN and the ipsilateral abducens (AB) nucleus evoked IPSPs in the motoneurons. These IPSPs were fully or partially occluded when they were evoked simultaneously. 3. Intracellular recordings were obtained from 8 AB motoneurons. Stimulation of the i-HCN and the i-C1DR motoneuron pool evoked IPSPs in the AB motoneurons. These IPSPs were also partially occluded when they were evoked simultaneously, which implied that some HCN-activated neurons inhibit both i-AB motoneurons and ipsilateral neck motoneurons. 4. Unit activity was extracellularly recorded from 30 vestibular neurons that were activated monosynaptically by i-HCN stimulation. Their axonal projections were determined by stimulating the i-AB nucleus and the i-C1DR motoneuron pool. Eight neurons were activated by both stimuli, and were termed vestibulooculo-collic (VOC) neurons. Their axonal branching was examined by means of local stimulation in and around the i-AB nucleus and the i-C1DR motoneuron pool. Eighteen neurons were antidromically activated from the i-C1DR motoneuron pool but not from the i-AB nucleus. These were termed vestibulo-collic (VC) neurons. Four neurons were activated from the i-AB nucleus but not from the ventral funiculus in the C1 segment, and were termed vestibulo-ocular (VO) neurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Axonal trajectories of inhibitory vestibulocollic neurons activated by the anterior semicircular canal nerve and their synaptic effects on neck motoneurons in the cat

Somatic location, axonal trajectories and synaptic effects of inhibitory vestibulocollic neurons which were activated by selective stimulation of the anterior semicircular canal nerve (ACN) were studied in the anesthetized cat. ACN stimulation evoked disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in neck flexor motoneurons. This was seen in all the (64/64) tested motoneurons innervating the ipsilateral (i-) longus capitis (LC) and the i-sternocleidomastoideus (SCM) muscles and in 86% (38/44) of the motoneurons innervating the contralateral (c-) LC muscle. The inhibitory relay neurons, identified by orthodromic and antidromic responses to stimulation of the ACN and the i- and c-LC motoneuron pools, were classified as VCi (vestibulocollic neurons sending an axon to the i-LC motoneuron pool) and VCc (vestibulocollic neurons sending an axon to the c-LC motoneuron pool) neurons. Neither VCi nor VCc neurons were activated antidromically by localized stimulation of the ascending medial longitudinal fasciculus (asc. MLF) or the 3rd nuclei. They were located in the medial, descending and ventral lateral vestibular nuclei. It was also observed that VCi neurons produced unitary IPSPs in i-LC and i-SCM motoneurons in the C1 segment. Inhibitory synapses were estimated to be on the cell somata and/or the proximal dendrites of the motoneurons.

Vestibulo-ocular abnormalities in spasmodic torticollis before and after botulinum toxin injections

In order to establish whether vestibular abnormalities often found in spasmodic torticollis are secondary to the abnormal head posture, the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) was studied in eight patients before and after correction of head posture with botulinum toxin. Eye movements were recorded in the dark during sinusoidal and velocity step rotation. Four patients showed a significantly asymmetric response, with the slow phase of the VOR more active ipsilateral to the torticollis (chin). Despite significant improvement of the head posture in all patients for up to 10 weeks following treatment, no correction of the vestibular asymmetry occurred. This suggests that the VOR abnormalities are not caused by the head posture itself. We interpret the findings as evidence of primary involvement of the vestibular system in torticollis and we postulate a widespread derangement of the sensory-motor mechanisms controlling head posture in this disease.

Axonal trajectories of posterior canal-activated secondary vestibular neurons and their coactivation of extraocular and neck flexor motoneurons in the cat

Unit activities of 148 secondary vestibular neurons related to the posterior semicircular canal were recorded extracellularly in anesthetized cats. Axonal projections of these neurons were examined by their antidromic responses to stimulation of the excitatory target motoneurons of the contralateral (c-) inferior rectus muscle (IR) and bilateral (bi-) motoneuron pools of longus capitis muscles, neck flexors, in the C1 segment (C1LC). The neurons were classified into 4 groups according to their axonal projections. The first group of neurons, termed vestibulo-oculo-collic (VOC) neurons, sent axon collaterals both to the c-IR motoneuron pool and to the c-C1LC motoneuron pool. The majority of them (72%) were located in the descending nucleus. The second group of neurons were termed vestibuloocular (VO) neurons and sent their axons to the c-IR motoneuron pool but not to the cervical cord. Most of them (86%) were located in the medial nucleus. The third group of neurons, termed vestibulo-collic (contralateral) (VCc) neurons, sent axons to the c-C1LC motoneuron pool via the contralateral ventral funiculus but not to the oculomotor nuclei. They were mostly (75%) found in the descending nucleus. The last group of neurons were vestibulo-collic (ipsilateral) (VCi) neurons, which gave off axons to the ipsilateral (i-) C1LC motoneuron pool via the ipsilateral ventral funiculus but not to the oculomotor nuclei. One of them also sent an axon collateral to the c-C1LC motoneuron pool. The majority of them (74%) were located in the ventral part of the lateral nucleus. It was also observed in some of the VOC and VCi neurons that they produced unitary EPSPs in the c-C1LC and i-C1LC motoneurons, respectively. Their synaptic sites were estimated to be on the cell somata and/or proximal dendrites of the motoneurons.

Properties and localization of the anterior semicircular canal-activated vestibulocollic neurons in the cat

Unit activities of secondary vestibular neurons that selectively responded to stimulation of the anterior semicircular canal nerve (ACN) were recorded extracellularly in the anesthetized cat. Axonal pathways and projections in the spinal cord of the ACN-activated neurons were examined by recording their antidromic responses to stimulation of the lateral and medial vestibulospinal tracts (LVST and MVST), and the bilateral neck extensor motoneuron pools in the C1 segment (C1 dorsal rami [DR] motoneuron pools). In order to determine whether the neurons had ascending axon collaterals to the extraocular motoneurons, the contralateral (c-) inferior oblique (IO) motoneuron pool was also stimulated. Twenty-seven neurons sent their axons to the ipsilateral (i-) C1DR motoneuron pool via the LVST without any projection to the extraocular motoneuron pool. All the cells except one were located in the ventral part of the lateral vestibular nucleus. This pathway produced monosynaptic EPSPs with short time-to-peak and short half-width in C1DR motoneurons (16/16 motoneurons). Eight neurons sent axons to the i-C1DR motoneuron pool via the MVST without any to the extraocular motoneuron pool. Cell somata were located in the descending nucleus or in the ventral part of the lateral nucleus. These neurons did not produce postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) in any C1DR motoneurons. All thirty-five neurons sending axons to the c-C1DR motoneuron pool have ascending axon collaterals to the c-IO motoneuron pool.

Electrophysiological analysis of the tecto-olivo-cerebellar (crus II) projection in the rat

In albino rats the superior colliculus was stimulated and evoked potentials were explored in the cerebellar hemisphere including the paramedian lobule, and crura I and II. Climbing fiber responses were identified in a strip (ca. 1 mm wide) in the medial region of crus II, extending to both folia a and b. In the tectorecipient zone in subnucleus c of the medial accessory olive, antidromically evoked potentials from crus II were recorded lateral to those from lobule VII. Evidence is presented that inferior olivary neurons projecting to crus II are different from those projecting to lobule VII.

Projections from brain stem nuclei to the spinal trigeminal nucleus in the cat

Afferent projections to the trigeminal nucleus oralis and caudalis from the brain stem have been investigated by the use of retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase in the cat. Both n. oralis and n. caudalis receive a projection from nucleus raphe magnus but not from other raphe nuclei in the medulla or pons. N. oralis and n. caudalis receive a bilateral projection from n. paragigantocellularis lateralis. N. oralis receives a projection from n. reticularis gigantocellularis and n. reticularis parvocellularis but not from n. reticularis magnocellularis. N. caudalis receives only sparse projections from n. reticularis gigantocellularis, n. reticularis parvocellularis and n. reticularis magnocellularis but receives an input from a layer of cells over the pyramids in the rostral medulla, here named n. paramagnocellularis ventralis. The study also revealed the presence of ascending and descending interconnections between n. oralis and n. caudalis, as well as contralateral trigeminal interconnections. Projections from the medial vestibular nuclei, n. praepositus hypoglossi and the facial nucleus to the spinal trigeminal nucleus were also noted. Since the spinal trigeminal nucleus has only sensory functions, the results indicate the source of projections, mainly from raphe and reticular nuclei, which are involved in sensory control in the trigeminal system.

Cytoarchitecture, neuronal morphology, and some efferent connections of the interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) in the cat

This study describes the cytoarchitecture and neuronal morphology of the interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) in the cat. In addition, the efferent projections of this nucleus to the spinal cord and inferior olive were studied by retrograde labelling with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The INC was shown to extend rostrocaudally for slightly more than 2 mm. Caudally, the nucleus consists of a small number of loosely aggregated neurons lying lateral to the ventral periaqueductal gray matter at a rostrocaudal level corresponding to the rostral one-fifth of the somatic cell columns of the oculomotor nucleus. Rostrally, the INC increases in size and reaches its maximum development in its rostral half, where it lies ventrolateral to the nucleus of Darkschewitsch (ND). Rostrally the INC is bounded by the dorsoventrally aligned fibres of the fasciculus retroflexus. Two groups of neurons could be distinguished within the INC in both normal and HRP-injected material. One group consists of a relatively small number of large, oval, pyramidal, fusiform, or multipolar neurons with mean dimensions of 40 X 26 micrometers. The second group consists of numerous small to medium-sized neurons with mean dimensions of 20 X 14 micrometers. Large neurons and some cells of the second group contain substantial amounts of Nissl substance throughout their perikarya. Some medium-sized to small neurons exhibit indentations in their nuclei, and glial cells are often apposed to their cell membranes. Golgi-Kopsch preparations taken from kitten showed that INC neurons possess sparsely branched, radiating dendritic trees with few spinous processes. The majority of INC neurons retrogradely labelled with HRP exhibited similar dendritic patterns. Injections of HRP into lesions at cervical, thoracic, or lumbar levels of the spinal cord resulted in retrograde labelling of neurons of all sizes and shapes throughout the entire length of the INC. However, the greatest number of HRP-labelled cells in INC were observed subsequent to injections of the enzyme into cervical levels of the cord. Following injections of HRP into the inferior olive only small to medium-sized neurons were labelled in the nucleus, the majority of which are located in rostral levels of the INC. A substantial olivary projection was observed to originate in the nucleus of Darkschewitsch (ND) and the nucleus parafascicularis (NPF). The sizes of the projections from these two nuclei to the inferior olive appeared to be much larger than that from the INC. Smaller numbers of neurons were also observed in the rostral parvocellular red nucleus (RN) and mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF).

Canal-neck interaction in vestibular nuclear neurons of the cat

The convergence and interaction of horizontal semicircular canal and neck proprioceptive inputs were studied in neurons of the caudal two thirds of the vestibular nuclear complex. Extracellular neuron activity was recorded under muscle relaxation and slight anesthesia in chronically prepared cats. The following stimulations were applied: horizontal rotations of (a) the whole body (labyrinth stimulation), (b) the trunk vs. the stationary head (neck stimulation), and (c) the head vs. the stationary trunk (combined labyrinth and neck stimulation). Of 152 neurons investigated, 83 (55%) showed convergence of the two inputs. In about half of these neurons, the neck input was very weak and hardly affected the labyrinthine response during head rotation. Judged from the response pattern, several of these neurons presumably were related to vestibulo-oculomotor function (i.e., vestibular nystagmus). In the other half (i.e., 27% of all neurons), sensitivity of the two inputs was similar. Both labyrinthine and neck responses contained a dynamic ("velocity") component; neck responses of more than half of these neurons had, in addition, a static ("position") component. The dynamic components were either "antagonistic" or "synergistic" as to their convergence during head rotation. When applying this combined stimulation, the dynamic components summed linearly, yielding subtration in case of antagonistic convergence and addition in case of synergistic convergence. In contrast, the static components of the neck responses remained largely unchanged during head rotation. However, the static head-to-trunk deflection determined the tonic discharge level in such neurons and thus facilitated or disfacilitated the dynamic responses to superimposed labyrinth stimulation. We suggest that the two patterns of labyrinthine neck interaction observed in vestibular nuclear neurons, i.e., subtration and addition, may be involved in the postural control of the trunk and head, respectively. In contrast, interference of the neck input with vestibulo-oculomotor function appears to be almost negligible in the intact cat.

Harmaline-induced tremor. I. Regional metabolic activity as revealed by [14C]2-deoxyglucose in cat

Changes of local cerebral glucose consumption under the effect of tremogenic doses of harmaline were studied. To find the brain structures activated by the drug, the autoradiographic method using [14C]2-deoxyglucose was applied to young cats. After administration of harmaline, the animals were paralized with flaxedil. Results were compared to a group of control animals not injected with the drug, but submitted to the same experimental protocol. Increases of neuronal activity were observed in several structures. A) Among the relays of the olivo-cerebello-fastigio (and vestibulo)-reticulo-spinal circuit that had been claimed to fire at the frequency of the tremor, labeling was found in: 1. selected portions of the inferior olive including the medial accessory olive and the caudolateral part of the dorsal accessory olive; 2. the molecular layers of the cerebellar cortex including vermian and paravermian zones. Labeling of the olivo-cerbellar system was therefore larger than the compartment controlling the fastigial nucleus and extended to that controlling the interpositus nucleus. B) Other structures not under the direct control of the olivo-cerebellar system displayed increased radioactivity under harmaline: lateral reticular nucleus, nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis, red nucleus and basal ganglia. Part of the nucleus ambiguus, intensely labeled in the control animals, showed decreased radioactivity under harmaline. The experiments were repeated with the same protocol in another group of animals with unilateral sections of the inferior cerebellar peduncle in order to distinguish between a direct pharmacological influence and a nervous one. Marking of the basal ganglia was not affected by pedunculotomy, suggesting a direct "pharmacological" action of the drug in this cases. On the other hand, marking of the other labeled structures was asymmetric or suppressed by pedunculotomy, and therefore could result from a "nervous" effect secondary to activation of the inferior olive.

Vestibular responses and branching of interstitiospinal neurons

1. Interstitiospinal neurons were activated by antidromic stimulation of the ventromedial funiculus of the spinal cord at C1 and C4 in cerebellectomized cats under chloralose anesthesia. 46% of these neurons responded only at C1 (N cells) and the remaining 54% responded at C4 also (D cells). There is no topographical difference in the location of N and D cells. Conduction velocities of N cells were significantly slower than those of D cells. 2. Stimulation of the contralateral whole vestibular nerve evoked firing of 31% of both N and D cells; some responded early enough to suggest disynaptic connections, many responded late. Stimulation of the ipsilateral whole vestibular nerve evoked firing of several cells, one spontaneously discharging D cell was inhibited. 3. Stimulation of the contralateral individual semicircular canal nerves evoked firing of 33% of N cells and 13% of D cells. Most of these responses were late. N cells responded not only to the vertical canals but also to the horizontal canal, whereas D cells responded to the horizontal canal, but seldom to the vertical ones. Most canal responding neurons received specific input, only two N cells received convergent input from both the anterior and horizontal canals. Stimulation of the ipsilateral canals did not evoke excitation of any cells tested; one D cell was inhibited by stimulation of the horizontal canal nerve. 4. Stimulation of the rostral medial vestibular nucleus evoked characteristic negative field potentials centered in the contralateral interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC). Approximately 60% of both N and D cells received excitation from the contralateral vestibular nuclei. About 17% of these responding neurons received monosynaptic excitation, most frequently from the rostral medial nucleus. Stimulation of the ipsilateral vestibular nuclei evoked firing of 12% of both N and D cells. 5. Twenty-nine neurons were fired antidromically by weak stimuli applied to the ipsilateral vestibular nuclei. Twenty-seven of the 29 were activated only from C1 and were found in the INC (10 cells) and in the reticular formation dorsal to the INC (19 cells). Measurement of the spread of the effect of stimulus current and comparison of latencies to stimulation of the vestibular nuclei and C1 indicated that these neurons have axon collaterals going to the ipsilateral vestibular nuclei. Only one of them received excitation from the contralateral posterior canal, others did not respond to the labyrinth. Some were activated by stimulation of the vestibular nuclei.