Intrinsic membrane properties of vertebrate vestibular neurons: function, development and plasticity

Central vestibular neurons play an important role in the processing of body motion-related multisensory signals and their transformation into motor commands for gaze and posture control. Over recent years, medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) neurons and to a lesser extent other vestibular neurons have been extensively studied in vivo and in vitro, in a range of species. These studies have begun to reveal how their intrinsic electrophysiological properties may relate to their response patterns, discharge dynamics and computational capabilities. In vitro studies indicate that MVN neurons are of two major subtypes (A and B), which differ in their spike shape and after-hyperpolarizations. This reflects differences in particular K(+) conductances present in the two subtypes, which also affect their response dynamics with type A cells having relatively low-frequency dynamics (resembling "tonic" MVN cells in vivo) and type B cells having relatively high-frequency dynamics (resembling "kinetic" cells in vivo). The presence of more than one functional subtype of vestibular neuron seems to be a ubiquitous feature since vestibular neurons in the chick and frog also subdivide into populations with different, analogous electrophysiological properties. The ratio of type A to type B neurons appears to be plastic, and may be determined by the signal processing requirements of the vestibular system, which are species-variant. The membrane properties and discharge pattern of type A and type B MVN neurons develop largely post-natally, through the expression of the underlying ion channel conductances. The membrane properties of MVN neurons show rapid and long-lasting plastic changes after deafferentation (unilateral labyrinthectomy), which may serve to maintain their level of activity and excitability after the loss of afferent inputs.

Basic organization principles of the VOR: lessons from frogs

Locomotion is associated with a number of optical consequences that degrade visual information processing in the absence of appropriate compensatory movements. The resulting retinal image flow is counteracted by coordinated eye-head reflexes that are initiated by optokinetic and vestibular inputs. The contribution of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) for stabilizing retinal images is relatively small in amplitude in frogs but important in function by compensating for the non-linearities of the neck motor system. The spatial tuning of the VOR networks underlying the angular (AVOR) and linear (LVOR) with respect to canal and extraocular motor coordinates is organized in a common, canal-related reference frame. Thereby, the axes of head and eye rotation are aligned, principle and auxiliary VOR connections transform vestibular into motor signals and parallel AVOR and LVOR circuits mediate vergence and version signals separately. Comparison of these results with data from other vertebrates demonstrates a number of fundamental organization principles common to most vertebrates. However, the fewer degrees of behavioral freedom of frogs are reflected by the absence of, e.g. a functioning velocity storage network or of a fixation suppression of the VOR. In vitro experiments with the isolated brainstem and branches of N.VIII attached were used to study the putative transmitters of vestibular nerve afferent inputs, the postsynaptic receptor subtypes of second-order vestibular neurons and their dynamic response properties. Evidence is presented that suggests that afferent vestibular nerve fibers with different dynamic response properties activate different subtypes of glutamate receptors. The convergence pattern of monosynaptic afferent nerve inputs from different labyrinthine organs onto second-order vestibular neurons is remarkably specific. As a rule, second-order vestibular neurons receive converging afferent nerve inputs from one semicircular canal and from a specific sector of hair cells on one otolith organ. This convergence pattern remains malleable even in adulthood and reorganization is initiated by activity-related changes in vestibular nerve afferent fibers. The output of second-order vestibular neurons is modified by at least three inhibitory control loops. Uncrossed inhibitory vestibular side loops appear to control specifically the dynamic response tuning, whereas coplanar commissural inhibitory inputs improve mainly the spatial tuning and the cerebellar feedback loop controls the response gain. Among the targets of second-order vestibular projection neurons are extraocular motoneurons and internuclear neurons. Extraocular motoneurons differ among each other by the presence of very different response dynamics. These differences may represent a co-adaptation to the response dynamics of twitch and non-twitch extraocular muscle fibers. Different dynamical properties are required for a rapid acceleration of the globe at the one end and for the maintenance of a stable eccentric eye position over long periods of time at the other end of a continuum of variations in dynamic response properties. The maintenance of a given eccentric eye position over long periods of time is especially well developed in frogs and assists visual surveillance during lurking in the absence of saccades.

Electrophysiological and pharmacological characterization of vestibular inputs to identified frog abducens motoneurons and internuclear neurons in vitro

Synaptic vestibular inputs of antidromically identified motoneurons and internuclear neurons in the abducens nucleus were studied electrophysiologically and pharmacologically in the isolated brain of grass frogs (Rana temporaria). The prevailing response pattern of abducens motoneurons (AbMOT) following stimulation of the VIIIth nerve was crossed disynaptic excitation and uncrossed disynaptic inhibition. A few AbMOT (five of 46), however, exhibited uncrossed excitation instead of inhibition. Abducens internuclear neurons (AbINT), identified by antidromic activation following stimulation of the contralateral medial longitudinal fascicle, exhibited disynaptic response patterns to stimulation of the VIIIth nerve that were very similar in latency and rise time to those of AbMOT except for the absence of uncrossed disynaptic inhibition. Bath application of strychnine (50 microM), a glycine antagonist, blocked the uncrossed inhibitory vestibular input to AbMOT and AbINT completely and reversibly, whereas picrotoxin (100 microM), a GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) antagonist, had no detectable effect on these disynaptic potentials. These results suggest glycine as the transmitter of inhibitory vestibular projections onto AbMOT and AbINT. The pharmacology of the excitatory vestibular input of these neurons was studied by electrical stimulation of the vestibular nuclear complex. Crossed monosynaptic excitatory inputs in AbMOT and AbINT were blocked completely by CNQX (6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione) (10 microM), an antagonist of AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) receptors, indicating glutamatergic excitation. Comparison of these results with those in the cat suggests the presence of a basic horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex that is very similarly organized, and corroborates the hypothesis that major behavioural differences in the performance of compensatory eye movements between species result from the properties of supplementary networks and not from differences in a common 'three-neuron' vestibulo-ocular arc.

Rhombomeric organization of vestibular pathways in larval frogs

Rhombencephalic subnuclei and projection pathways related to vestibular function were mapped in larval ranid frogs. The retention of overt postembryonic rhombomeres (r) allowed direct visualization of the locations of neurons retrogradely labeled with fluorescent dextran amines from the midbrain oculomotor complex, cerebellum, vestibular nuclei, and spinal cord. Oculomotor projecting vestibular neurons were mainly located in bilateral r1/2, ipsilateral r3, and contralateral r5-8, and spinal projecting vestibular neurons mainly in ipsilateral r4 and contralateral r5. Vestibular commissural neurons were located in r1-3 and r5-7 and were largely excluded from r4. Cerebellar projecting neurons included contralateral inferior olivary neurons in r8 and vestibular neurons in bilateral r6/7 and contralateral r1/2. Mapping these results onto adult anuran vestibular organization indicates that the superior vestibular nucleus derives from larval r1/2, the lateral vestibular nucleus from r3/4, and the major portions of the medial and descending vestibular nuclei from r5-8. The lateral vestibulospinal tract projects from an origin in r4, whereas a possible ascending tract of Deiters arises in r3. Rhombomere 5 contains a nuclear group that appears homologous to the tangential nucleus of fish, reptiles, and birds and thus likely serves gravistatic and linear vestibulomotor reflexes. Comparisons between frogs and other vertebrates suggest that vestibular neurons performing similar computational roles during head movements originate from the same segmental locations in different species.

Patterns of canal and otolith afferent input convergence in frog second-order vestibular neurons

Second-order vestibular neurons (2 degrees VN) were identified in the isolated frog brain by the presence of monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) after separate electrical stimulation of individual vestibular nerve branches. Combinations of one macular and the three semicircular canal nerve branches or combinations of two macular nerve branches were stimulated separately in different sets of experiments. Monosynaptic EPSPs evoked from the utricle or from the lagena converged with monosynaptic EPSPs from one of the three semicircular canal organs in ~30% of 2 degrees VN. Utricular afferent signals converged predominantly with horizontal canal afferent signals (74%), and lagenar afferent signals converged with anterior vertical (63%) or posterior vertical (37%) but not with horizontal canal afferent signals. This convergence pattern correlates with the coactivation of particular combinations of canal and otolith organs during natural head movements. A convergence of afferent saccular and canal signals was restricted to very few 2 degrees VN (3%). In contrast to the considerable number of 2 degrees VN that received an afferent input from the utricle or the lagena as well as from one of the three canal nerves (~30%), smaller numbers of 2 degrees VN (14% of each type of 2 degrees otolith or 2 degrees canal neuron) received an afferent input from only one particular otolith organ or from only one particular semicircular canal organ. Even fewer 2 degrees VN received an afferent input from more than one semicircular canal or from more than one otolith nerve (~7% each). Among 2 degrees VN with afferent inputs from more than one otolith nerve, an afferent saccular nerve input was particularly rare (4-5%). The restricted convergence of afferent saccular inputs with other afferent otolith or canal inputs as well as the termination pattern of saccular afferent fibers are compatible with a substrate vibration sensitivity of this otolith organ in frog. The ascending and/or descending projections of identified 2 degrees VN were determined by the presence of antidromic spikes. 2 degrees VN mediating afferent utricular and/or semicircular canal nerve signals had ascending and/or descending axons. 2 degrees VN mediating afferent lagenar or saccular nerve signals had descending but no ascending axons. The latter result is consistent with the absence of short-latency macular signals on extraocular motoneurons during vertical linear acceleration. Comparison of data from frog and cat demonstrated the presence of a similar organization pattern of maculo- and canal-ocular reflexes in both species.

Location of dye-coupled second order and of efferent vestibular neurons labeled from individual semicircular canal or otolith organs in the frog

Vestibular nerve branches innervating the sensory epithelia of the three semicircular canals or of the three otolith organs of frogs were selectively labeled in-vitro with biocytin. Labeled afferent fibers from the semicircular canals, utricle, and lagena were encountered in each of the four vestibular nuclei and their projections overlapped considerably. Saccular afferent fibers projected to the dorsal (acoustic) nuclei and smaller projections to the vestibular nuclei were regionally restricted. Per semicircular canal or otolith organ about equal numbers (11-14) of medium sized vestibular neurons (between 7.5 and 17 microm in diameter) were dye-coupled to afferent fibers. Most of these dye-coupled vestibular neurons were located in the lateral and descending vestibular nuclei between the VIIIth and IXth nerves. The superior vestibular nucleus was relatively free of dye-coupled vestibular neurons. The location of this subpopulation of central vestibular neurons supports the notion that these neurons are part of a particular vestibulospinal pathway. In addition, from each of the canal and/or otolith organs about 3-4 efferent vestibular neurons were labeled retrogradely. These neurons (between 15 and 26 microm in diameter) were located ventral to the vestibular nuclear complex. The branching of efferent vestibular neurons was shown by the presence of neurons that were double labeled by two different fluorescent dyes applied in the same experiment to the anterior and posterior ramus of the same VIIIth nerve, respectively. The branching of these efferent neuron axons explained the presence of collaterals and terminals in the sensory epithelia of a number of untreated ipsilateral endorgans.

Canal-specific excitation and inhibition of frog second-order vestibular neurons

Second-order vestibular neurons (secondary VNs) were identified in the in vitro frog brain by their monosynaptic excitation following electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral VIIIth nerve. Ipsilateral disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials were revealed by bath application of the glycine antagonist strychnine or of the gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA(A)) antagonist bicuculline. Ipsilateral disynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were analyzed as well. The functional organization of convergent monosynaptic and disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory inputs onto secondary VNs was studied by separate electrical stimulation of individual semicircular canal nerves on the ipsilateral side. Most secondary VNs (88%) received a monosynaptic EPSP exclusively from one of the three semicircular canal nerves; fewer secondary VNs (10%) were monosynaptically excited from two semicircular canal nerves; and even fewer secondary VNs (2%) were monosynaptically excited from each of the three semicircular canal nerves. Disynaptic EPSPs were present in the majority of secondary VNs (68%) and originated from the same (homonymous) semicircular canal nerve that activated a monosynaptic EPSP in a given neuron (22%), from one or both of the other two (heteronymous) canal nerves (18%), or from all three canal nerves (28%). Homonymous activation of disynaptic EPSPs prevailed (74%) among those secondary VNs that exhibited disynaptic EPSPs. Disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) were mediated in 90% of the tested secondary VNs by glycine, in 76% by GABA, and in 62% by GABA as well as by glycine. These IPSPs were activated almost exclusively from the same semicircular canal nerve that evoked the monosynaptic EPSP in a given secondary VN. Our results demonstrate a canal-specific, modular organization of vestibular nerve afferent fiber inputs onto secondary VNs that consists of a monosynaptic excitation from one semicircular canal nerve followed by disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory inputs originating from the homonymous canal nerve. Excitatory and inhibitory second-order (secondary) vestibular interneurons are envisaged to form side loops that mediate spatially similar but dynamically different signals to secondary vestibular projection neurons. These feedforward side loops are suited to adjust the dynamic response properties of secondary vestibular projection neurons by facilitating or disfacilitating phasic and tonic input components.

Spinal plasticity after hemilabyrinthectomy and its relation to postural recovery in the frog

1. Brachial dorsal root-evoked ventral root responses were studied in the isolated brain/spinal cord preparation of frogs. One group of frogs (n = 20) had survived a hemilabyrinthectomy (HL) between 7 and 70 days. In another group of frogs (n = 30), a nerve branch to an individual labyrinthine organ was sectioned uni- or bilaterally 15 days before the recording session. In a third group of frogs (n = 5), a weight had been mounted eccentrically on the head for 15 days. A fourth group of intact frogs (n = 8) served as a control. 2. In chronic HL frogs (> or = 60 days postoperatively) the amplitudes of short- and long-latency ventral root potentials recorded on the operated side were consistently increased with respect to control values in response to all converging inputs tested. On the intact side most of these potentials were consistently increased as well, except for crossed long-latency responses after stimulation of the dorsal root on the operated side. 3. Practically identical responses were recorded in these preparations before and after the disconnection of the spinal cord from the brain stem at the level of the obex. Before this disconnection, ventral root potentials were recorded in response to electric stimulation of either one of the VIIIth nerves on the intact or on the operated side. Ventral root potentials recorded on the operated but not on the intact side were slightly increased in chronic HL frogs. 4. The time course of these changes was studied at intervals between 7 and 70 days after the lesion. The amplitudes of short-latency dorsal root-evoked ventral root potentials were increased relatively early (7-15 days) or relatively late (> or = 30 days) after HL. Ventral root potentials evoked by stimulation of either one of the N.VIII were significantly reduced in amplitude seven days after HL but normalized again or increased above control values after longer survival periods. These differences in the time courses suggest the presence of multiple, not singular mechanisms for intraspinal changes. 5. Changes in dorsal root-evoked ventral root potentials similar to those after HL were seen 15 days after a selective unilateral section of the utricular, but not after a unilateral section of the horizontal canal or saccular nerve branch. Therefore these changes were initiated either by asymmetric utricular afferent inputs or by asymmetric proprioceptive inputs resulting from lesion-induced postural deficits. 6. These two possibilities were investigated in two different sets of experiments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Uncrossed disynaptic inhibition of second-order vestibular neurons and its interaction with monosynaptic excitation from vestibular nerve afferent fibers in the frog

1. Eighth nerve evoked responses in central vestibular neurons (n = 146) were studied in the isolated brain stem of frogs. Ninety percent of these neurons responded with a monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) after electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral VIIIth nerve. In 5% of these neurons, the EPSP was truncated by a disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP), and in 5% of these neurons a pure disynaptic IPSP was evoked. 2. Disynaptic IPSPs superimposed upon apparently pure EPSPs were revealed by bath application of the glycine receptor antagonist strychnine (0.5-5 microM) or of the gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptor antagonist bicuculline (0.5-2 microM). The evoked EPSP increased in most central vestibular neurons (strychnine: 15 out of 16 neurons; bicuculline 26 out of 29 neurons). At higher stimulus intensities, the evoked spike discharge increased from 2 to 3 spikes before up to 8-10 spikes per electrical pulse during the application of blocking agents. The unmasked disynaptic inhibitory component increased with stimulus intensity to a different extent in different neurons. 3. Lesion studies demonstrated that these inhibitory components were generated ipsilaterally with respect to the recording side. The disynaptic strychnine-sensitive inhibition was mediated by neurons located either in the ventral vestibular nuclear complex (VNC) or in the adjacent reticular formation. The spatial distribution of the disynaptic inhibition was investigated by simultaneous recordings of VIIIth nerve-evoked field potentials at different rostrocaudal locations of the VNC. A significant strychnine-sensitive component was detected in the middle and caudal parts but not in the rostral part of the VNC. A bicuculline-sensitive component was detected in the rostral and in the caudal parts but not in the middle part of the VNC. In view of a similar rostrocaudal distribution of glycineor GABA-immunoreactive neurons in the VNC of frogs, our results suggest that part of the disynaptic inhibition is mediated by local interneurons with a spatially restricted projection area. 4. The monosynaptic EPSP of second-order vestibular neurons was mediated in part by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and in part by non-NMDA receptors. The relative contribution of the NMDA receptor-mediated component of the EPSP decreased with stronger stimuli. This negative correlation could have resulted from a preferential activation of NMDA receptors via thick vestibular nerve afferent fibers. Alternatively, the activation of NMDA receptors became disfacilitated at higher stimulus intensities due to the recruitment of disynaptic inhibitory inputs. Comparison of data obtained in the presence and in the absence of these glycine and GABAA receptor blockers indicates a preferential activation of NMDA receptors via larger-diameter vestibular nerve afferent fibers. 5. The kinetics of NMDA receptors (delay, rise time) activated by afferent nerve inputs were relatively fast. These fast kinetics were independent of superimposed IPSPs. The association of these receptors with large-diameter vestibular nerve afferent fibers suggests that fast NMDA receptor kinetics might be matched to the more phasic response dynamics of the large diameter vestibular afferent neurons to natural head accelerations.

Size-related properties of vestibular afferent fibers in the frog: differential synaptic activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors

Vestibular afferent fibers exhibit a specific, cell size-related uptake of aspartate and glycine [Straka H. et al. (1995) Neuroscience 70, 685-696]. A similar, size-related coexistence of glycine and glutamate had been reported earlier for these fibers [Reichenberger I. and Dieringer N. (1994) J. comp. Neurol. 349, 603-614]. Taken together, these results suggest a size-related co-release of both amino acids and the activation of different glutamate receptors in second order vestibular neurons. To test this hypothesis we stimulated the VIIIth nerve and recorded the responses of central vestibular neurons in the isolated brainstem of frogs before and during the application of the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists (7-chlorokynurenic acid and D-(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid). The presence of either one of these antagonists provoked a dose-dependent and Mg(2+)-sensitive partial block of the monosynaptic responses recorded extra- or intracellularly. This implies that afferent-evoked responses in central vestibular neurons are composed of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated components. In most of the intracellularly recorded neurons (21 out of 24) the relative amplitude of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated component decreased with an increase in stimulus intensity. Since electric stimulation recruits thick afferents at a lower current intensity than thin afferent fibers, our results imply a co-activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors by thick vestibular afferents. At a given stimulus intensity the amplitude of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated component differed between neurons. The results of this study extend the list of known anatomical, histochemical and physiological properties that distinguish thick from thinner vestibular afferent fibers. In spite of this detailed knowledge, however, the physiological role of thick vestibular afferents is so far unclear. The novel concept of a size-related co-activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate and non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors by vestibular afferent fibers establishes the basis for more specific physiological hypotheses.

Convergence pattern of uncrossed excitatory and inhibitory semicircular canal-specific inputs onto second-order vestibular neurons of frogs. Organization of vestibular side loops

Second-order vestibular neurons of frogs receive converging monosynaptic excitatory and disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory inputs following electrical pulse stimulation of an individual semicircular canal nerve on the ipsilateral side. Here we revealed, in the in vitro frog brain, disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) by bath application of antagonists specific for glycine or gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA(A)) receptors. Differences in the response parameters between disynaptic IPSPs and excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) suggested that disynaptic IPSPs originated from a more homogeneous subpopulation of thicker vestibular nerve afferent fibers than mono- or disynaptic EPSPs. To investigate a possible size-related organization of these canal-specific, parallel pathways, we combined long-lasting anodal currents of variable intensities with strong cathodal test pulses, to block pulse-evoked responses reversibly in a graded manner according to the size-related sensitivity of vestibular nerve afferent fibers. The anodal current intensity required to block a particular response component was about 15 times lower than the strength of the cathodal test pulse that activated this response component. These large threshold differences were exploited for a selective anodal suppression of the responses from thick vestibular nerve afferent fibers. In fact, response components known to originate exclusively from thick-caliber afferent fibers such as the electrically transmitted monosynaptic EPSP component exhibited the lowest thresholds for cathodal test pulses and were the first to disappear in the presence of small anodal polarization steps. Thresholds for the activation/inactivation of responses and current intensities required for response saturation/blockade were used to assess the fiber spectrum that evoked the different response components. Mono- and disynaptic EPSPs appeared to originate from a broad spectrum of thick and thin vestibular nerve afferent fibers. The spectrum of afferent fibers that activated disynaptic IPSPs on the other hand was more homogeneous and consisted of thick and intermediate fibers. Such a canal-specific and fiber type-related organization of converging inputs of second-order vestibular neurons via feedforward projections was shown for the first time by this study in frogs, but might also prevail in mammals. Similar differences in these feedforward pathways have been proposed earlier in a vestibular side-loop model. Our results are consistent with the basic assumptions of this model and relate to the processing and tuning of dynamic vestibular signals.

Second-Order Vestibular Neurons Form Separate Populations With Different Membrane and Discharge Properties

Membrane and discharge properties were determined in second-order vestibular neurons (2°VN) in the isolated brain of grass frogs. 2°VN were identified by monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials after separate electrical stimulation of the utricular nerve, the lagenar nerve, or individual semicircular canal nerves. 2°VN were classified as vestibulo-ocular or -spinal neurons by the presence of antidromic spikes evoked by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord or the oculomotor nuclei. Differences in passive membrane properties, spike shape, and discharge pattern in response to current steps and ramp-like currents allowed a differentiation of frog 2°VN into two separate, nonoverlapping types of vestibular neurons. A larger subgroup of 2°VN (78%) was characterized by brief, high-frequency bursts of up to five spikes and the absence of a subsequent continuous discharge in response to positive current steps. In contrast, the smaller subgroup of 2°VN (22%) exhibited a continuous discharge with moderate adaptation in response to positive current steps. The differences in the evoked spike discharge pattern were paralleled by differences in passive membrane properties and spike shapes. Despite these differences in membrane properties, both types, i.e., phasic and tonic 2°VN, occupied similar anatomical locations and displayed similar afferent and efferent connectivities. Differences in response dynamics of the two types of 2°VN match those of their pre- and postsynaptic neurons. The existence of distinct populations of 2°VN that differ in response dynamics but not in the spatial organization of their afferent inputs and efferent connectivity to motor targets suggests that frog 2°VN form one part of parallel vestibulomotor pathways.

Internuclear neurons in the ocular motor system of frogs

Medial and lateral rectus motoneurons of frogs were localized after retrograde labeling with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injected in the medial rectus muscle or applied on the cut end of the abducens nerve. Coordinates of these cell columns were used as target areas for the injection of small amounts of HRP (20-60 nl) and [3H]leucine (25-40 nl) and as search areas for retrogradely and anterogradely labeled internuclear neurons (INT) in in vivo and in vitro experiments. HRP injection in the medial rectus subdivision of the oculomotor nucleus (n = 6) resulted in retrograde labeling of cell bodies in the contralateral principal abducens nucleus. On the average about 16 cells per animal were found. Somatic diameters were about 13.5 +/- 2.8 microns (n = 32). The number and the size of these abducens internuclear neurons (AbINT) are smaller than those of lateral rectus motoneurons (n = 75; diameter: 19 +/- 3.2 microns). A crossed projection of AbINT to medial rectus motoneurons in the contralateral oculomotor nucleus is further supported by autoradiographic results. Following injection of [3H]leucine into the abducens nucleus, a high density of silver grains was visible within the contralateral oculomotor nucleus, mainly in the caudal part of the oculomotor nucleus, where medial rectus motoneurons are located. Injection of [3H]leucine in vivo (n = 4) and in vitro (n = 3) resulted in a similar high density of silver grains within the contralateral oculomotor nucleus, but the background level of silver grains was significantly higher after in vitro (264 +/- 38/2,500 microns2) than after in vivo injections (195 +/- 17/2,500 microns2). HRP injection in the principal abducens nucleus (n = 9) resulted in retrograde labeling of cell bodies in the medial rectus subdivisions of the bilateral oculomotor nuclei. Ipsilateral projections predominated, with about 10 (+/- 8) labeled cells over contralateral projections (about 3 +/- 2). Average diameters of these oculomotor internuclear neurons (OcINT) were again smaller (10.8 +/- 2 microns; n = 18) than those of medial rectus motoneurons (14.4 +/- 3 microns; n = 52). In addition, retrogradely labeled cells were consistently encountered in the bilateral vestibular nuclei, the cerebellar nuclei, the dorsal brainstem caudal to the abducens nuclei, and ipsilaterally in the pretectum. Most of the vestibular neurons were located in the rostral part of the vestibular nuclear complex. These neurons might constitute part of the three-neuronal arc of the vestibulo-ocular reflex in the frog. Labeled cells in the pretectum were restricted to the ipsilateral posterior thalamic nucleus (P).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Postlesional vestibular reorganization in frogs: evidence for a basic reaction pattern after nerve injury

Nerve injury induces a reorganization of subcortical and cortical sensory or motor maps in mammals. A similar process, vestibular plasticity 2 mo after unilateral section of the ramus anterior of N. VIII was examined in this study in adult frogs. The brain was isolated with the branches of both N. VIII attached. Monosynaptic afferent responses were recorded in the vestibular nuclei on the operated side following ipsilateral electric stimulation either of the sectioned ramus anterior of N. VIII or of the intact posterior vertical canal nerve. Excitatory and inhibitory commissural responses were evoked by separate stimulation of each of the contralateral canal nerves in second-order vestibular neurons. The afferent and commissural responses of posterior vertical canal neurons recorded on the operated side were not altered. However, posterior canal-related afferent inputs had expanded onto part of the deprived ramus anterior neurons. Inhibitory commissural responses evoked from canal nerves on the intact side were detected in significantly fewer deprived ramus anterior neurons than in controls, but excitatory commissural inputs from the three contralateral canal nerves had expanded. This reactivation might facilitate the survival of deprived neurons and reduce the asymmetry in bilateral resting activities but implies a deterioration of the original spatial response tuning. Extensive similarities at the synaptic and network level were noted between this vestibular reorganization and the postlesional cortical and subcortical reorganization of sensory representations in mammals. We therefore suggest that nerve injury activates a fundamental neural reaction pattern that is common between sensory modalities and vertebrate species.

Spatial distribution of field potential profiles in the cat cerebellar cortex evoked by peripheral and central inputs

The present study was designed to characterize the spread of excitation within the frontal plane of the cat cerebellar cortex following different types of stimuli. In particular, experiments were performed to determine whether the spread of excitation evoked by mossy fibre inputs proceeds primarily along the parallel fibres ("beam-like" spread) or whether these inputs activate non-propagated foci ("patches") in the cerebellar cortex. Field potentials were recorded within a frontal plane as a medial to lateral array at different depths in parallel tracks. The recordings were made following electrical stimulation of different forelimb nerves and functionally related areas of the sensorimotor cortex as well as during passive paw movements. The resulting spatial grid of responses provides discrete spatio-temporal information reflecting the activation of specific cerebellar afferents and the neuronal interactions they evoke. The method employed demonstrates the spatial distribution of the temporal sequence of excitability changes throughout all the cerebellar cortical layers. In general, the characteristics of the responses in the intermediate cerebellar cortex depended on the source of the signals. Activity patterns evoked by peripheral nerve stimulation showed more clustered foci compared with those following electrical stimulation of functionally related areas of the sensorimotor cortex. The centrally evoked profiles were generally more homogeneous. The largest number of foci were observed following passive movements around the wrist joint. The spread of excitation in the vertical direction was evaluated by the spatial shift of the line of reversal of the N3/P2-potential (zero-isopotential line). Lines of reversal for peripherally-evoked activity patterns were approximately 90 microns closer to the molecular layer than those evoked by central stimulation in animals in which recordings have been performed in lobule Vc. The opposite was found for recordings in lobule Vb, where potential reversals following peripheral stimulation were located 40 microns deeper than those evoked following central stimulation. Cortical inputs resulted in a more proximal activation of lobule Vc Purkinje cell dendrites than in lobule Vb. This type of input processing thus seems to be lobule dependent. A beam-like spread of excitation could not be demonstrated. For both climbing fibre and mossy fibre afferent systems multiple foci were found in the frontal plane. The foci due to mossy fibre activation arose from the granular layer and expanded vertically to the molecular layer. For the climbing fibre system the foci were restricted to the molecular layer, where they merged to form a superficial band of activation. Although the data presented in this paper favour a focal distribution of activity, they do not exclude beam-like propagation along the parallel fibres, because of the difficulty of detecting this pattern in response to the stimuli. The "beam"- and "patch"-like hypotheses need not be mutually exclusive. Each could contribute to a specific stage of the temporal-spatial processing in the cerebellar cortex in a functional and task-specific manner.

Expansion of afferent vestibular signals after the section of one of the vestibular nerve branches

The anterior branch of N. VIII was sectioned in adult frogs. Two months later the brain was isolated to record in vitro responses in the vestibular nuclei and from the abducens nerves following electric stimulation of the anterior branch of N. VIII or of the posterior canal nerve. Extra- and intracellularly recorded responses from the intact and operated side were compared with responses from controls. Major changes were detected on the operated side: the amplitudes of posterior canal nerve evoked field potentials were enlarged, the number of vestibular neurons with a monosynaptic input from the posterior canal nerve had increased, and posterior canal nerve stimulation recruited stronger abducens nerve responses on the intact side than vice versa. Changes in the convergence pattern of vestibular nerve afferent inputs on the operated side strongly suggest the expansion of posterior canal-related afferent inputs onto part of those vestibular neurons that were deprived of their afferent vestibular input. As a mechanism we suggest reactive synaptogenesis between intact posterior canal afferent fibers and vestibularly deprived second-order vestibular neurons.

Topographic representation of vestibular and somatosensory signals in the anuran thalamus

In the isolated brain of the fire-bellied toad, Bombina orientalis, the spatial distribution of vestibular and somatosensory responses in thalamic nuclei was studied following electrical activation of the Vth nerve, the ramus anterior of the VIIIth nerve and of the dorsal roots of spinal nerves 3 and 8. Responses were systematically mapped in frontal planes through the diencephalon at four rostro-caudal levels. The calculated activity maps were superimposed on the outlines of diencephalic nuclei, and those nuclei that received particularly large inputs from the stimulated sensory nerve roots were indicated. Maximal response amplitudes coincided with ventral, central, and posterior thalamic areas and exhibited a topography that differed for each sensory nerve root. Maximal responses evoked from the Vth nerve were largely separated from those from spinal dorsal roots 3 and 8, whereas maximal vestibular responses partly overlapped with those from the other somatosensory nerve roots. Our findings indicate that within the amphibian thalamus sensory signals originating from different nerve roots are largely represented in separate areas as is the case in the thalamus of amniotes. However, the anterior dorsal thalamus which is the only origin of ascending pathways to the medial and dorsal pallium (assumed homologues of the mammalian hippocampus and neocortex, respectively) receives only minor vestibular and somatosensory input. This corroborates the view that amphibians lack a direct sensory thalamo-cortical, or "lemnothalamic," pathway typical of mammals and birds.

Plane-specific brainstem commissural inhibition in frog second-order semicircular canal neurons

Commissural inputs of identified second-order semicircular canal neurons were studied by separate stimulation of each of the three canal nerves on either side in the vitro frog brains. The spatial pattern of these inputs was further investigated in those second-order canal neurons that received a monosynaptic input from only one ipsilateral canal nerve (91%). Since similar results were obtained in the presence as in the absence of the cerebellum, commissural inputs must have been relayed via fibers crossing in the brainstem. Following stimulation of individual semicircular canal nerves, commissural inputs were either inhibitory or excitatory. A commissural inhibition was evoked in the majority of the recorded neurons (79%) by stimulation of the coplanar semicircular canal nerve on the contralateral side. In the remaining neurons, a commissural excitatory input was evoked. A commissural excitation, originating from the two noncoplanar semicircular canals, predominated in most (68%) of the recorded neurons and was independent of the type of second-order canal neuron. The onset latency of the canal plane-specific commissural inhibitory potentials was di- or trisynaptic. Stimulation of the contralateral VIIIth nerve evoked excitatory commissural responses. The canal plane-specific commissural inhibition therefore might have been masked by commissural excitatory responses as in earlier studies. The similar organization of the canal plane-specific commissural inhibition in frog and cat corroborates the notion of a phylogenetically conservative, basic vestibular organization. The presence of a canal plane-unspecific commissural excitation, however, appears to be a feature that is specific to frogs. The functional implications of these similarities and differences are discussed.

Spatial distribution of semicircular canal nerve evoked monosynaptic response components in frog vestibular nuclei

Most second-order vestibular neurons receive a canal-specific monosynaptic excitation, although the central projections of semicircular canal afferents overlap extensively. This remarkable canal specificity prompted us to study the spatial organization of evoked field potentials following selective stimulation of individual canal nerves. Electrically evoked responses in the vestibular nuclei were mapped systematically in vitro. Constructed activation maps were superimposed on a cytoarchitectonically defined anatomical map. The spatial activation maps for pre- and postsynaptic response components evoked by stimulation of a given canal nerve were similar. Activation maps for monosynaptic inputs from different canals tended to show a differential distribution of their peak amplitudes, although the overlap was considerable. Anterior vertical canal signals peaked in the superior vestibular nucleus, posterior vertical canal signals peaked in the descending and in the dorsal part of the lateral vestibular nucleus, whereas horizontal canal signals peaked in the descending and in the ventral part of the lateral vestibular nucleus. A similar, differential but overlapping, spatial organization of the canal inputs was described also for other vertebrates, suggesting a crude but rather conservative topographical organization of semicircular canal nerve projections within the vestibular nuclei. Differences in the precision of topological representations between vestibular and other sensory modalities are discussed.

Size-related properties of vestibular afferent fibers in the frog: uptake of and immunoreactivity for glycine and aspartate/glutamate

Vestibular afferent fibers and their somata in the ganglion of Scarpa colocalize glutamate and glycine in a size-related manner. In this study tritiated aspartate, glycine or GABA was injected in the vestibular nuclear complex of frogs to investigate the uptake by afferent fibers and the retrograde transport of these amino acids to the cell bodies in the ganglion by autoradiographical methods. Ganglion cells were labeled by [3H]aspartate or [3H]glycine but not by [3H]GABA. The intensity of labeling with [3H]glycine increased and the intensity of labeling with [3H]aspartate decreased with cell size. On consecutive semithin sections the immunoreactivity of the same neurons was investigated with antibodies against glutamate or glycine. The results of this combined study showed that smaller, strongly glutamate immunopositive ganglion cells exhibited only weak or no labeling with [3H]glycine whereas larger, less strongly glutamate immunopositive ganglion cells were more intensely labeled with [3H]glycine. A similar size-related labeling pattern was observed in ganglion cells for [3H]aspartate and glycine-immunoreactivity. Both glycine uptake and glutamate immunoreactivity, as well as aspartate uptake and glycine-immunoreactivity, tended to be inversely correlated with the size of a given ganglion cell. These results provide evidence for a specific, size-related uptake of aspartate and glycine and are compatible with our hypothesis that the two amino acids are coreleased by thick but not by thin vestibular afferents. In an accompanying paper [Straka H. et al. (1995) Neuroscience 70, 697-707], we provide evidence for a size-related, monosynaptic activation of different glutamate receptors by vestibular afferent fibers.

A hindbrain segmental scaffold specifying neuronal location in the adult goldfish, Carassius auratus

The vertebrate hindbrain develops as a series of well-defined neuroepithelial segments or rhombomeres. While rhombomeres are visible in all vertebrate embryos, generally there is not any visible segmental anatomy in the brains of adults. Teleost fish are exceptional in retaining a rhombomeric pattern of reticulospinal neurons through embryonic, larval, and adult periods. We use this feature to map more precisely the segmental imprint in the reticular and motor basal hindbrain of adult goldfish. Analysis of serial sections cut in three planes and computer reconstructions of retrogradely labeled reticulospinal neurons yielded a segmental framework compatible with previous reports and more amenable to correlation with surrounding neuronal features. Cranial nerve motoneurons and octavolateral efferent neurons were aligned to the reticulospinal scaffold by mapping neurons immunopositive for choline acetyltransferase or retrogradely labeled from cranial nerve roots. The mapping corresponded well with the known ontogeny of these neurons and helps confirm the segmental territories defined by reticulospinal anatomy. Because both the reticulospinal and the motoneuronal segmental patterns persist in the hindbrain of adult goldfish, we hypothesize that a permanent "hindbrain framework" may be a general property that is retained in adult vertebrates. The establishment of a relationship between individual segments and neuronal phenotypes provides a convenient method for future studies that combine form, physiology, and function in adult vertebrates.

Interactions between intrinsic membrane and emerging network properties determine signal processing in central vestibular neurons

Head/body motion-related sensory signals are transformed in second-order vestibular neurons (2°VN) into commands for appropriate motor reactions that stabilize gaze and posture during locomotion. In all vertebrates, these neurons form functional subgroups with different membrane properties and response dynamics, compatible with the necessity to process a wide range of motion-related sensory signals. In frog, 2°VN subdivide into two well-defined populations with distinctly different intrinsic membrane properties, discharge dynamics and synaptic response characteristics. Tonic 2°VN form low-pass filters with membrane properties that cause synaptic amplification, whereas phasic 2°VN form band-pass filters that cause shunting of repetitive inputs. The different, yet complementary, filter properties render tonic neurons suitable for integration and phasic neurons for differentiation and event detection. Specific insertion of phasic 2°VN into local vestibular networks of inhibitory interneurons reinforces the functional consequences of the intrinsic membrane properties of this particular cell type with respect to the processing of afferent sensory signals. Thus, the combination of matching intrinsic cellular and emerging network properties generates sets of neuronal elements that form adjustable, frequency-tuned filter components for separate transformation of the various dynamic aspects of head motion-related signals. The overall frequency tuning of central vestibular neurons differs between vertebrates along with variations in species-specific locomotor dynamics, thereby illustrating an ecophysiological plasticity of the involved neuronal elements. Moreover, separation into multiple, dynamically different subtypes at any neuronal level along the vestibulo-motor reflex pathways suggests an organization of head motion-related sensory-motor transformation in parallel, frequency-tuned channels.