Afferent signals from the extraocular muscles of the pigeon modify the electromyogram of these muscles during the vestibulo-ocular reflex

Digital dissection of the head of the rock dove (Columba livia) using contrast-enhanced computed tomography

The rock dove (or common pigeon), Columba livia, is an important model organism in biological studies, including research focusing on head muscle anatomy, feeding kinematics, and cranial kinesis. However, no integrated computer-based biomechanical model of the pigeon head has yet been attempted. As an initial step towards achieving this goal, we present the first three-dimensional digital dissection of the pigeon head based on a contrast-enhanced computed tomographic dataset achieved using iodine potassium iodide as a staining agent. Our datasets enable us to visualize the skeletal and muscular anatomy, brain and cranial nerves, and major sense organs of the pigeon, including very small and fragile features, as well as maintaining the three-dimensional topology of anatomical structures. This work updates and supplements earlier anatomical work on this widely used laboratory organism. We resolve several key points of disagreement arising from previous descriptions of pigeon anatomy, including the precise arrangement of the external adductor muscles and their relationship to the posterior adductor. Examination of the eye muscles highlights differences between avian taxa and shows that pigeon eye muscles are more similar to those of a tinamou than they are to those of a house sparrow. Furthermore, we present our three-dimensional data as publicly accessible files for further research and education purposes. Digital dissection permits exceptional visualisation and will be a valuable resource for further investigations into the head anatomy of other bird species, as well as efforts to reconstruct soft tissues in fossil archosaurs.

Visual vertigo: Vertigo of oculomotor origin

Since Róbert Bárány proposed his hypothesis on vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), dizziness associated with vertigo has been interpreted as being vestibular in origin. However, there have been many contradictory findings showing modulations of VOR, which have caused confusion as to VOR's role and accuracy. Further, there seems to be an influence of VOR when the anatomical inner ear structures are congenitally absent. Many people report vertiginous symptoms when they are exposed to visually challenging situations. These people with visually induced vertigo are usually found to have only mildly abnormal labyrinthine findings. Accurate visual information via binocular vision in animals, including humans, is important for the survival. Understanding how visual information is used in balance can help us to apply a different approach to the mechanism of vertigo. This article will review how accurate binocular viewing is possible for precise images through a complex oculomotor system and the proprioceptive senses of the external ocular muscles (EOMs). The proprioceptive senses from EOMs appear to affect motor efferents of the body. Oculomotor activities during viewing are important not just for learning but also for executing whole body motor responses. An error in the oculomotor afferents will cause a reaction to the error signal. This can be troubling for proper balancing during movement. Especially, common oculomotor causes (including fatigue of EOMs which is common in today's lifestyle) can contribute to many vertiginous conditions.

Induced extraocular muscle afferent signals: from pigeons to people

While the muscles that move the eyes, the extraocular muscles (EOM), are well endowed with proprioceptors, afferent signals from these receptors are usually assumed to play little or no role in the control of eye movement. In a series of experiments, a suction contact lens was used to impose movements on one eye, thus inducing afferent signals. Single unit activity was recorded centrally (to examine the interactions between EOM afferent signals and visual or vestibular signals), or the movements of the other eye were measured (to investigate their effects on the output of the oculomotor system). In a model preparation, the decerebrate pigeon, EOM afferent signals modified single unit activity in the medial vestibular nucleus, and the third and sixth motor nuclei, during sinusoidal vestibular stimulation. When one eye was moved to mimic the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), movement faster than required for compensation for a given head velocity reduced the gain of single unit vestibular responses. In awake, alert pigeons the overall output of the VOR, as evidenced by movements of the other eye, was modified. In humans, when one eye was impeded, the saccades and smooth pursuit executed by the other eye were altered. Taken together, these results suggest that EOM afferent signals play a functional role in the shaping of eye movement.

The functions of the proprioceptors of the eye muscles

This article sets out to present a fairly comprehensive review of our knowledge about the functions of the receptors that have been found in the extraocular muscles--the six muscles that move each eye of vertebrates in its orbit--of all the animals in which they have been sought, including Man. Since their discovery at the beginning of the 20th century these receptors have, at various times, been credited with important roles in the control of eye movement and the construction of extrapersonal space and have also been denied any function whatsoever. Experiments intended to study the actions of eye muscle receptors and, even more so, opinions (and indeed polemic) derived from these observations have been influenced by the changing fashions and beliefs about the more general question of how limb position and movement is detected by the brain and which signals contribute to those aspects of this that are perceived (kinaesthesis). But the conclusions drawn from studies on the eye have also influenced beliefs about the mechanisms of kinaesthesis and, arguably, this influence has been even larger than that in the converse direction. Experimental evidence accumulated over rather more than a century is set out and discussed. It supports the view that, at the beginning of the 21st century, there are excellent grounds for believing that the receptors in the extraocular muscles are indeed proprioceptors, that is to say that the signals that they send into the brain are used to provide information about the position and movement of the eye in the orbit. It seems that this information is important in the control of eye movements of at least some types, and in the determination by the brain of the direction of gaze and the relationship of the organism to its environment. In addition, signals from these receptors in the eye muscles are seen to be necessary for the development of normal mechanisms of visual analysis in the mammalian visual cortex and for both the development and maintenance of normal visuomotor behaviour. Man is among those vertebrates to whose brains eye muscle proprioceptive signals provide information apparently used in normal sensorimotor functions; these include various aspects of perception, and of the control of eye movement. It is possible that abnormalities of the eye muscle proprioceptors and their signals may play a part in the genesis of some types of human squint (strabismus); conversely studies of patients with squint in the course of their surgical or pharmacological treatment have yielded much interesting evidence about the central actions of the proprioceptive signals from the extraocular muscles. The results of experiments on the eye have played a large part in the historical controversy, now in at least its third century, about the origin of signals that inform the brain about movement of parts of the body. Some of these results, and more of the interpretations of them, now need to be critically re-examined. The re-examination in the light of recent experiments that is presented here does not support many of the conclusions confidently drawn in the past and leads to both new insights and fresh questions about the roles of information from motor signals flowing out of the brain and that from signals from the peripheral receptors flowing into it. There remain many lacunae in our knowledge and filling some of these will, it is contended, be essential to advance our understanding further. It is argued that such understanding of eye muscle proprioception is a necessary part of the understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of eye movement control and that it is also essential to an account of how organisms, including Man, build and maintain knowledge of their relationship to the external visual world. The eye would seem to provide a uniquely favourable system in which to study the way in which information derived within the brain about motor actions may interact with signals flowing in from peripheral receptors. The review is constructed in relatively independent sections that deal with particular topics. It ends with a fairly brief piece in which the author sets out some personal views about what has been achieved recently and what most immediately needs to be done. It also suggests some lines of study that appear to the author to be important for the future.

Afferent signals from the extraocular muscles affect the gain of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex in the alert pigeon

We have shown previously that the gain of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (HVOR) is modified by afferent signals from extraocular muscle proprioceptors in the decerebrate pigeon. We have now analysed the variability of the HVOR in intact, alert pigeons and, using the artificial vestibulo-ocular reflex method, have found that in all of the pigeons tested afferent signals from the extraocular muscle proprioceptors modify the gain, but not the phase, of the HVOR. While this effect was seen in a given bird only on some occasions, when present it was consistent in magnitude and direction and closely similar to our previous observations on decerebrate pigeons. These results from alert, intact birds strengthen the evidence that extraocular muscle afferent signals play a part in the control of the vestibulo-ocular reflex.

Signals of eye position and velocity in the first-order afferents from pigeon extraocular muscles

Responses of first-order afferents from the extraocular muscles of the pigeon were studied by extracellular recording in the ophthalmic part of the trigeminal ganglion of decerebrate, paralysed pigeons. The afferents responded to both the amplitude and velocity of ramp displacements of the intact eye with amplitude sensitivities ranging from 0.9 to 8 impulses/s/deg of eye displacement beyond the response threshold. Once a new stable position had been reached, the afferent signal depended only upon the absolute position of the eye within the orbit. The responses adapted in seconds rather than minutes so these units would not provide a continuous signal of the position of an immobile eye; they are best described as signalling position and velocity in relation to eye movements.

Changes in dorsal neck muscle activity related to imposed eye movement in the decerebrate pigeon

Movements of the head and eyes are known to be intimately related. Eye position has also been shown to be closely related to the electromyographic activity of dorsal neck muscles; however, extraocular muscle proprioception has not generally been considered to play a part in the control of such movements. We have previously shown that, in the pigeon, imposed movements of one eye modify the vestibular responses of several dorsal neck muscles in ways that are dependent on stimulus parameters such as the amplitude and velocity of imposed eye movement. The present study examines more closely the interactions between imposed eye movements and different muscle pairs. The three neck muscle pairs studied each responded to afferent signals from the extraocular muscles in discrete and specific ways which appeared to be correlated with their different actions. Complementary effects of imposed eye movements in the horizontal plane were seen for both the complexus and splenius muscle pairs, with imposed eye movements in one direction producing the largest inhibition of the ipsilateral muscle's vestibular response and imposed eye movements in the opposite direction the largest inhibition of the contralateral muscle's vestibular response. During roll tilt oscillation (ear-up/ear-down) in the frontal plane, similar complementary effects of imposed eye movement were seen in the complexus muscle pair, but the splenius muscle pair showed little tuning, with similar inhibition for imposed eye movement directed either upwards or downwards. In contrast to these complementary effects, the biventer cervicis muscle pair showed no vestibular modulation during vestibular stimulation in the horizontal plane and their spontaneous activity was not altered by imposed eye movement. During roll-tilt oscillation (ear-up/ear-down) in the frontal plane imposed eye movement directed vertically upwards increased both muscles' vestibular responses and imposed eye movement directed vertically downwards inhibited both muscles' vestibular responses. Section of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (deafferenting the eye muscles) abolished the effects of imposed eye movement on the neck muscle pairs. In conjunction with further control experiments these results provide compelling evidence that proprioceptive signals from the extraocular muscles reach the neck muscles and provide them with a functionally significant signal. We have previously shown that signals from the extraocular muscles appear to be involved in the control of the vestibulo-ocular reflex. It follows from the experiments reported here that proprioceptive signals from the extraocular muscles are also likely to be involved in the control of gaze.

Vertical eye position control in darkness: orbital position and body orientation interact to modulate drift velocity

How stable is vertical eye-in-head position control in darkness when no visual targets are present? We evaluated this while varying both body-in-space orientation and eye-in-orbit position in six subjects who were free from oculomotor/vestibular disease. Vertical eye movements were monitored using a CCD-video tracking system, and results were confirmed on one subject with the magnetic search coil. Three body orientations were used: (1) seated upright; (2) supine; and (3) prone. In each of these body orientations starting eye-in-orbit position was varied in quasi-random order from -20 to +20 deg, while vertical eye drift was monitored for a 90 sec period at each position. Subjects were instructed to hold their eyes as steady as possible. The relationship between body orientation/eye position and vertical eye drift velocity was examined using a linear regression technique. In contrast to prior clinical reports, normals exhibit a vertical nystagmus/drift in darkness. Moreover, slow-phase eye velocity was found to be dependent on eye-in-orbit position in the upright and supine body orientations. This pattern of eye drift mirrors Alexander's Law, with significantly increased drift velocities when subjects looked in the direction of their re-centering saccades (P < 0.05 or better). Body-in-space orientation also modulated the eye drift velocity, with significant differences in rate of eye drift (P < 0.05 or better) between extremes of body orientation (supine and prone) for five out of six subjects. The stability of the vertical oculomotor control system in the absence of visual input is strongly affected by body-in-space orientation and eye-in-orbit position: manipulating either of these variables results in non-random patterns of drift. These results are discussed using a multiple-input model of vertical eye-in-head position control.

Afferent signals from pigeon extraocular muscles modify the activity of neck muscles during the vestibulocollic reflex

Movements of the head and eye which, together, result in changes in the direction of gaze are linked in a number of species, including man, and eye position is known to affect the activity of neck muscles. This head-eye linkage has generally been ascribed to modification of neck muscle activity by internal estimates of eye position derived from motor commands. We have recently shown that afferent signals from stretch receptors in the extraocular muscles are involved in the moment-to-moment control of eye movements during the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR). We have now studied the interactions between head and eye movements by recording the electromyographic activity of several neck muscles during horizontal (yaw) or frontal (roll tilt) vestibular stimulation. Such a stimulus evokes a VOR in the eyes and a vestibulocollic reflex (VCR) in neck muscles. Imposing movements on one eye at saccadic velocities produced considerable inhibition of the VCR response of a number of neck muscles. The magnitude of these effects was dependent on the parameters of the imposed eye movement. Thus systematic changes were seen when the amplitude, velocity or direction of eye movement was varied. Movement of the eye in the opposite direction to that produced by a normal VOR produced a large inhibition of the VCR response, whereas movements in the same direction as the VOR produced only modest inhibition of the VCR response of the neck muscles tested. Slow, sinusoidal, imposed eye movements that mimicked the slow phase of the VOR produced changes in the gain of the VCR response which appear to correct for errors in the imposed eye velocity and thus tend to maintain the direction of gaze. The results show that changes in eye position have striking effects on the electromyographic activity of neck muscles during the VCR, and strongly suggest that extraocular muscle afferent signals are involved in head-eye coordination.

Afferent signals from the extraocular muscles of the pigeon modify the vestibulo-ocular reflex

Although the extraocular muscles (EOM) contain stretch receptors it is generally thought that the afferent signals which they provide play no role in the control of eye movement. We have previously shown that these afferent signals do modify both the vestibular responses of single units in the oculomotor control system and the electromyographic responses of the EOM during the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). We have now investigated the effect of EOM afferent signals on the VOR itself, by recording the electro-oculogram of one eye while imposing movements on the other eye during the VOR. Moving the eye in a manner which mimics the slow phase of the VOR, we have found that, as the peak velocity of the imposed eye movement increases, the amplitude of eye movement of the other eye decreases. These results confirm that the output of the VOR itself, expressed as movement of the globe, and not merely some of its component parts, is modified by EOM afferent signals.