Visual signals in the dorsolateral pontine nucleus of the alert monkey: Their relationship to smooth-pursuit eye movements

Summary The visual properties of 77 dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) cells were studied in two alert monkeys. In 41 cells, presentation of a moving random dot background pattern, while the monkeys fixated a stationary spot, elicited modulations in discharge rate that were related either to (i) the velocity of background motion in a specific direction or to (ii) only the direction of background movement. Thirty-six DLPN cells exhibited responses to small, 0.6–1.7 deg, visual stimuli. Nine such cells exhibited non-direction selective receptive fields that were eccentric from the fovea. During fixation of a stationary bluish spot, the visual responses of 27 DLPN cells to movement of a small, white test spot were characterized by two components: (1) as the test spot crossed the fovea in a specific direction, transient velocity-related increases in discharge rate occurred and (2) a maintained, smaller increase in activity was observed for the duration of test spot movement in the preferred direction. This DLPN activity associated with small visual stimuli was also observed during smooth-pursuit eye movements when, due to imperfect tracking, retinal image motion of the target produced slip in the same direction. These preliminary results suggest that the DLPN could supply the smooth-pursuit system with signals concerning the direction and velocity of target image motion on the retina.This study was supported by NSF Grant BNS-8107111, NIH Grant R01 EY04552-01, and the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Foundation Dedication. This paper is dedicated to Dr. Kitsuya Iwama, Emeritus Professor of Osaka University Medical School, on his retirement. The first author is grateful for the inspiration and guidance that Dr. Iwama provided during the early part of the author's education in neurophysiology.     

Superficial tectal neurons projecting to the dorsolateral pontine nucleus in the rabbit

Summary After WGA-HRP injections in the pontine grey involving the dorsolateral pontine nucleus, a great number of labeled cells were found in the superficial layers of the ipsilateral superior colliculus. The majority of these cells were located in the stratum griseum superficiale (SGS). Few labeled cells were found in the stratum opticum, and the stratum zonale (SZ) showed no labeled cells. Labeled cells in the SGS formed a rather homogeneous population as most of them had fusiform somata with an upper dendritic process which runs vertically to reach the SZ. These cells were mainly located in the middle third of the SGS, forming a sublamina in this layer. These results demonstrate the participation of the superficial tectal layers in the ipsilateral descending pathway of the superior colliculus, allowing visual information to reach precerebellar stations at the dorsolateral pontine nucleus.     

Saccade-related burst neurons with torsional and vertical on-directions in the interstitial nucleus of Cajal of the alert monkey

The interstitial nucleus of Cajal (iC) is known to be the neural integrator for vertical and torsional eye movements. Burst-tonic neurons are thought to be the neural substrate for this function. Until now, the iC has not been specifically considered to play a part in saccade generation. The aim of this study was to characterize saccade-related burst neurons in the iC during torsional and vertical eye movements. Saccade-related burst neurons were recorded in the iC of macaque monkeys during fast phases of torsional and vertical vestibular nystagmus, spontaneous and visually guided eye movements, and in light and darkness. Burst neurons in the iC (n=85) were found intermingled between burst-tonic and tonic neurons. They were not spontaneously active, showed no eye position sensitivity, and responded during saccades and quick phases of nystagmus with a burst of activity whose duration was closely correlated with saccade amplitude and hence saccade duration (correlation coefficients up to 0.9). Latency in the on-direction was, on average, 10.4 ms (range 5–23 ms); it decreased with different saccade directions and became negative in the off-direction. In a horizontal-vertical coordinate system, on-direction of the majority of neurons was either upward (n=52) or downward (n=33). There was no horizontal on-direction. Burst neurons of different vertical on-directions were found intermingled throughout the iC. In the vertical-torsional plane, on-direction always showed an ipsiversive torsional component, i.e., a clockwise (positive) torsion for neurons in the right iC and a counterclockwise (negative) torsional component when recorded in the left iC. The findings indicate that saccade-related burst neurons in the iC control coordinate axes for vertical and torsional quick eye rotations. As in the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF), burst neurons in the iC encode vertical saccades with an ipsitorsional direction with similar burst characteristics. It is suggested that iC burst neurons play a part in the local feedback loop of the reciprocal iC-riMLF projections.     

Neural activity in dorsolateral pontine nucleus of alert monkey during ocular following responses.

1. Movements of the visual scene evoke short-latency ocular following responses. To study the neural mediation of the ocular following responses, we investigated neurons in the dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) of behaving monkeys. The neurons discharged during brief, sudden movements of a large-field visual stimulus, eliciting ocular following. Most of them (100/112) responded to movements of a large-field visual stimulus with directional selectivity. 2. Response amplitude was measured in two components of the neural response: an initial transient component and a late sustained component. Most direction-selective DLPN neurons showed their strongest responses at high stimulus speeds (80-160 degrees/s), whether their response components were initial (63/87, 72%) or sustained (63/87, 72%). The average firing rates of 87 DLPN neurons increased as a linear function of the logarithm of stimulus speed up to 40 degrees/s for both initial and sustained responses. 3. Not only the magnitude but also the latency of the neural and ocular responses were dependent on stimulus speed. The latencies of both neural and ocular responses were inversely related to the stimulus speed. As a result, the time difference between the response latencies for neural and ocular responses did not vary much with changes of stimulus speed. 4. Response latency was measured when a large-field random dot pattern was moved in the preferred direction and at the preferred speed of each neuron. Seventy-three percent (56/77) of the neurons were activated less than 50 ms after the onset of the stimulus motion. In most cases (67/77, 87%), their increase of firing rate started before the eye movements, and 34% of them (26/77) started greater than 10 ms before the eye movements. 5. Blurring of the random dot pattern by interposing a sheet of ground glass increased the latency of both neural responses and eye movements. On the other hand, the blurred images did not change the timing of the effect of blanking the visual scene on the responses of the neurons or eye movements. 6. When a check pattern was used instead of random dots, both neural and ocular responses began to decrease rapidly when the temporal frequency of the visual stimulus exceeded 20 Hz. When the temporal frequency of the visual stimulus approached 40 Hz, the neurons showed a distinctive burst-and-pause firing pattern. The eye movements recorded at the same time showed signs of oscillation, and their temporal patterns were closely correlated to those of the firing rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Visual suppression from nondominant eye in the lateral geniculate nucleus: A comparison of cat and monkey

Summary We have studied the suppression of firing in single LGN cells of cat and monkey in response to visual stimulation of the nondominant eye.In the cat LGN most of the cells of each of the main laminae show this nondominat suppression. X cells having their dominant input from the ipsilateral eye were suppressed to a significantly greater degree than any other cell type in the cat LGN.In the monkey LGN nondominant suppression was absent in all 19 X-like cells studied, whereas 6 of 21 Y-like cells showed nondominant suppression. Thus nondominant suppression is present in the magnocellular laminae of the monkey LGN, where the Y-like cells are found, but appears to be absent from the parvocellular laminae, where the X-like cells are found.A preliminary report has been presented at the meeting of the Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society in August 1977. Proc. Aust. Physiol. Pharmacol. Soc. 8, 132 (1977)     

Fastigial nucleus activity in the alert monkey during slow eye and head movements

1. Single units were recorded extracellularly from the fastigial nucleus of three macaque monkeys. Two untrained animals were subjected to whole-body yaw rotations in the light and dark and to full-field horizontal optokinetic stimuli provided by a drum with vertical stripes. The third also was subjected to sinusoidal yaw rotations but, in addition, was trained to follow a small spot, which moved in various ways relative to the animal, to reveal possible smooth pursuit and vestibular sensitivities. 2. On the basis of their responses to vestibular and optokinetic stimuli and their responses during smooth pursuit, fastigial neurons could be divided functionally into a rostral and a caudal group. 3. Most rostral neurons exhibited an increased firing for contralateral head rotations and ipsilateral optokinetic stimuli. A few had the opposite combination of directional preferences. The average firing rates increased monotonically both with contralateral head velocity and ipsilateral drum velocity and decreased monotonically for the oppositely directed movements. There was no change in firing rate for either spontaneous saccades or smooth pursuit of a small moving spot. 4. In contrast, neurons in the caudal fastigial nuclei not only have a robust vestibular sensitivity, but respond during smooth pursuit as well. Most discharge during contralateral head velocity and contralateral smooth pursuit so that they exhibit very little modulation during the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) or when the rotating animal is fixating a target stationary in the world (SIW). The remaining neurons discharge during contralateral head rotations but ipsilateral eye rotations; these units exhibit their greatest modulation during the SIW condition. 5. Because they respond during quite different behavioral situations, it seems likely that rostral fastigial neurons are involved with descending control of the somatic musculature, whereas the caudal neurons are involved in oculomotor control. The sparse anatomic and lesion data that is available is consistent with this idea.     

Discharge properties of neurons in the monkey thalamus tested with angular acceleration,eye movement and visual stimuli

Summary Monkeys were trained to make visually evoked eye movements while undergoing simultaneous head rotation. Single units were recorded in the pregeniculate nucleus (PGN). PGN neurons discharged during each saccade, but there was no change in activity with horizontal head acceleration or with various combinations of head and smooth pursuit eye movements as previously described in the cat. Therefore, the anatomical homology between LGN_v and PGN does not appear to have a neurophysiological basis. Neurons in the oral part of VPL or occasionally in VPI discharged as a function of head velocity but not with saccades, smooth pursuit or fixation eye movements, nor after brief light flashes or during smooth pursuit across structured backgrounds. This suggests that VPL_o and VPI are only vestibular relay nuclei and not concerned with vestibular/visual or vestibular/oculomotor interactions.It is a pleasure to acknowledge the histological talents of Donna Simmons, the veterinary care provided by Stan Crossman and Margaret Price, the surgical assistance of Doug Hasund, the secretarial help of Jean Scalf, and the editorial comments of Kate Schmitt.On leave from Laboratoire de Neuropsychologie Expérimentale, INSERM U 94, 16, av. Doyen Lépine, 69500 Bron, FranceThis research was supported by grants RR00166, GM00260 and EY00745 from the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service, and by a grant from INSERM.     

Otolith inputs to pursuit neurons in the frontal eye fields of alert monkeys

The smooth-pursuit system must interact with the vestibular system to maintain the accuracy of eye movements in space during head movement. Maintenance of a target image on the foveae is required not only during head rotation which activates primarily semi-circular canals but also during head translation which activates otolith organs. The caudal part of the frontal eye fields (FEF) contains pursuit neurons. The majority of them receive vestibular inputs induced by whole body rotation. However, it has not been tested whether FEF pursuit neurons receive otolith inputs. In the present study, we first classified FEF pursuit neurons as belonging to one of three groups (vergence + fronto-parallel pursuit, vergence only, fronto-parallel pursuit only) based on their responses during fronto-parallel pursuit and mid-sagittal vergence-pursuit. We, then, tested discharge modulation of these neurons during fore/aft and/or right/left translation by passively moving the whole body sinusoidally at 0.33 Hz (±10 cm, peak velocity 19 cm/s; 0.04g). The majority of FEF pursuit neurons in all three groups were activated by fore/aft and right/left translation without a target in complete darkness. There was no correlation between the magnitude of discharge modulation and translational vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). Preferred directions of translational responses were distributed nearly evenly in front of the monkeys. Discharge modulation was also observed when a target moved together with whole body, requiring the monkeys to cancel the translational VOR. These results indicate that the discharge modulation of FEF pursuit neurons during whole body translation reflected otolith inputs.     

Pretectal jerk neuron activity during saccadic eye movements and visual stimulations in the cat

Summary The activity of jerk neurons was recorded extracellularly in the pretectum of the awake cat. The characteristic response of jerk neurons was a short, high-frequency burst that occurred after fast movements (jerks) of a large, structured visual stimulus, during saccadic eye movements in the light, and after on or off visual stimulation. Mean burst latency to pure visual jerks was 50 ms, whereas it was 30 ms to saccadic eye movements. Bursts were found to be stereotyped; the highest discharge rate was always at burst onset. Jerk neurons were not selective for stimulus parameters (such as movement amplitude or direction) except that in some neurons a weak correlation between stimulus velocity and discharge frequency was found. During saccades in the dark, clear bursts were only rarely found. In about half of the neurons, however, there was a slight but significant increase in the number of spikes above spontaneous frequency. Visual receptive fields were very large (46° horizontal and 35° vertical extent, on average). Nevertheless, the pretectal jerk neurons showed a rough retinotopic order, which was in accordance with the published retinotopy of the pretectum. Jerk neurons were found throughout the whole superficial pretectum, but preferentially in an area that corresponds to the nucleus of the optic tract (NOT) and the nucleus pretectalis posterior (NPP). Saccades were elicited by electrical stimulations at the sites where jerk neurons were recorded. The direction of the elicited saccades depended strongly on the pretectal stimulation site. A possible role of the jerk neurons as a visuomotor relay to elicit saccades or to modulate perception and attention is discussed.     

Smooth-pursuit eye movement deficits with chemical lesions in the dorsolateral pontine nucleus of the monkey

1. Anatomical and single-unit recording studies suggest that the dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) in monkey is a major link in the projection of descending visual motion information to the cerebellum. Such studies coupled with cortical and cerebellar lesion results suggest a major role for this basilar pontine region in the mediation of smooth-pursuit eye movements. 2. To provide more direct evidence that this pontine region is involved in the control of smooth-pursuit eye movements, focal chemical lesions were made in DLPN in the vicinity of previously recorded visual motion and pursuit-related neurons. Eye movement responses were subsequently recorded in these lesioned animals under several behavioral paradigms. 3. A major deficit in smooth-pursuit performance was produced after unilateral DLPN lesions generated either reversibly with lidocaine or more permanently with ibotenic acid. Pursuit impairments were observed during steady-state tracking of sinusoidal target motion as well as during the initiation of pursuit tracking to sudden ramp target motion. Through the use of the latter technique, initial eye acceleration was reduced to less than one-half of normal for animals with large lesions of the dorsolateral and lateral pontine nuclei. 4. The pursuit deficit in all animals was directional in nature and was not dependent on the visual hemifield in which the motion stimulus occurred. The largest effect for horizontal tracking occurred in all animals for pursuit directed ipsilateral to the lesion. Animals also showed major deficits in one or both directions of vertical pursuit, although the primary direction of the vertical impairment was variable from animal to animal. 5. Chemical lesions in the DLPN also produced comparable deficits in the initiation of optokinetic-induced smooth eye movements in the ipsilateral direction. In contrast to this effect on the initial optokinetic response, in the one lesioned animal studied during prolonged constant velocity optokinetic drum rotation, smooth eye speed increased slowly over a 10- to 15-s period to reach a level that closely matched drum speed. These results suggest that pathways outside the DLPN can generate the steady-state optokinetic response. 6. Saccades to stationary targets were normal after DLPN lesions, but corrective saccades made to targets moving in the direction ipsilateral to the lesion were much more hypometric than similar prelesion control saccades. 7. The pursuit deficits produced by lidocaine injections recovered within 30 min. The ibotenic acid deficits were maximal approximately 1 day after the injection and recovered rapidly thereafter over a time period of 3-7 days.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Neuronal activity during eye movements in a visual association area of cat cerebral cortex

Summary 270 single neurons from the anterior part of the middle suprasylvian gyrus (AMSS) were recorded in awake and non-paralyzed cats (Chronic preparation).10% were unresponsive to visual stimulation, the remainder reacted well to moving visual stimuli. Half of the units tested were directionally selective. Horizontal, or downward preferred directions predominated. Most neurons were relative insensitive to changes of shape, orientation, contrast, and velocity of the visual stimulus. Some neurons preferred rapid (100°/sec) jerky movements, others required complex motions of irregular shapes, a few strongly preferred objects moving towards the animal in the midsagittal plane. 40% of neurons yielded phasic On-Off reaction to flashing stationary spots.Habituation to repeated stimulation was a common feature and occured in 50% of AMSS neurons. In 19% of neurons tested the discharge rate was not affected by saccadic eye movements, when the animal faced a patterned background. Among the remainder two types of saccade associated responses could be distinguished. Type I discharged prior to or simultaneously with the onset of saccades. This early response was usually associated with saccades of particular directions. Saccades in total darkness yielded weaker and less consistent responses. Type II discharged subsequent to the onset of the saccades after a latency of 40 msec (type IIa), 40–80 msec (type IIb) and 80 msec (type IIc). Responses of type IIa are probably consequences of the retinal effects of eye movements.The saccade associated responses of type Ia, IIb and IIc are tentatively interpreted as results of an eye movement-synchroneous subcortical input, which facilitates transmission in AMSS neurons. Presaccadic facilitation, which generates type Ia responses, may be functionally related to shifts of attention prior to eye movements. It is suggested that postsaccadic facilitation, which underlies the reactions of type IIb and IIc, may be a correlate of visual attention during the fixation period.     

Neuronal activity in the monkey striatum during the initiation of movements

Summary The sources of afferent input to the striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) suggest that this structure may be engaged in neuronal processes related to the initiation of movement. We found that 26% of 508 neurons in both parts of the striatum were activated during the presentation of visual signals which prepared the animals for the execution or withholding of individual arm reaching movements. In a second task, 20% of 382 striatal neurons were activated up to 3 s before self-initiated, non automatic and purposive arm movements which were performed in the complete absence of phasic external stimuli. The data demonstrate an involvement of the striatum in externally and internally generated processes which are related to presetting mechanisms during the initiation of behavioral acts.     

Neuronal activity in the vestibular nuclei of the alert monkey during vestibular and optokinetic stimulation

Summary Recordings from neurons of the vestibular nuclei were performed in alert monkeys. Type I and type II units were identified by rotating the monkey about a vertical axis. All neurons responded also when only the visual surround was rotated around the stationary monkey. The combination of visual and vestibular stimulation points towards non-algebraic summation characteristics for the two inputs, with each input dominating the response over a certain range.Supported by Swiss National Foundation for Scientific Research 3.044.76 and Emil-Barell-Foundation of Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland     

Delayed reduction in GABA and GAD immunoreactivity of neurons in the adult monkey dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus following monocular deprivation or enucleation

Summary GABA and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) immunoreactivities were examined in dorsal lateral geniculate nuclei (LGN) of normal monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and in monkeys that had one eye injected with tetrodotoxin (TTX) or one eye removed 5 days to 4 weeks prior to sacrifice. As seen in previous studies (Wong-Riley and Carroll 1984) monocular TTX injections or enucleation quickly reduced cytochrome oxidase (CO) staining in layers 2, 3 and 5 of the ipsilateral LGN and in layers 1,4 and 6 of the contralateral LGN. The reduction in CO staining was apparent at all survival times examined. By contrast, GABA and GAD immunostaining in the LGNs were qualitatively normal up to two weeks following enucleation or after 17 days of TTX injections. Quantitative and stereological analyses confirmed that the numerical density and proportion of GABA and GAD neurons do not change in the LGN following two weeks of denervation or deprivation, even though in the same monkeys a reduction in GABA immunostaining was found in deprived-eye columns of area 17. However, with longer survivals, of 3–4 weeks in duration, the number of GABA and GAD immunostained neurons in the deprived/denervated-eye laminae of the LGN was reduced by one-third. These findings demonstrate that the deprivation-induced reduction in GABA and GAD immunoreactivity is delayed in the LGN, by comparison with the visual cortex, and suggest that the effects in the LGN may be relayed through the cortex or that neurotransmitter levels may be regulated by different mechanisms in the two sites.     

Afferents of the caudal fastigial nucleus in a New World monkey (Cebus apella)

Summary The afferents of the fastigial nucleus (FN) were studied in two capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) one of which had received a unilateral injection of horseradish peroxidase in the caudal FN, and a second monkey which received a control injection that involved the lateral caudal FN but extended into the cerebellar white matter between the FN and posterior interposed nucleus (PIN). All of the sources of FN afferents were found to be labeled bilaterally. In addition to the restricted distribution of labeled Purkinje cells in lobules VI and VII of the posterior lobe vermis (oculomotor vermis), retrogradely labeled cells were present in the dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN), dorsomedial pontine nucleus (DMPN), nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP), pontine raphe (PR), paramedian nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (NRPC), nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH), subnucleus b of the medial accessory olivary nucleus (sbMAO), and vestibular complex (VC). The second (control) injection appeared to confirm a proposed (Langer et al. 1985b) projection from the flocculus to the basal interstitial nucleus. The results are discussed in terms of the functional relationships of the FN to the frontal eye field and oculomotor-related brainstem structures involved in the production of saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movements.Abbreviations AIN anterior interposed nucleus, cerebellum - BC brachium conjunctivum (sup. cerebellar peduncle) - BIN basal interstitial nucleus, cerebellum - BPN basilar pontine nuclei - CS corticospinal (pyramidal) tract - DBC decussation of brachium conjunctivum - DLPN dorsolateral pontine nucleus (Nyby and Jansen 1951) - DMPN dorsolateral pontine nucleus - DN dentate nucleus, cerebellum - DNV descending nucleus of the trigeminal complex (C.N. V) - FN fastigial nucleus, cerebellum - IC inferior colliculus - ICP inferior cerebellar peduncle - IVN inferior vestibular nucleus - LCN lateral (external) cuneate nucleus - LPN lateral pontine nucleus - MAO medial accessory nucleus of the inferior olivary complex - ML medial lemniscus - MLF medial longitudinal fasciculus - MRF medullary reticular formation (nuc. retic. gigantocellularis) - MVN medial vestibular nucleus - NI nucleus intercalatus of Staderini of the perihypoglossal complex - NPH nucleus prepositus hypoglossi - NRPC nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis - NRPO nucleus reticularis pontis oralis - NRTP nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis - PIN posterior interposed nucleus - PR pontine raphe - sbMAO subnucleus b, medial accessory olivary nucleus - SC superior colliculus - sbPVG supragenial peri- (IVth) ventricular gray - SVN superior vestibular nucleus - VIn abducens nerve (C.N. VI) - XIIn hypoglossal nerve (C.N. XII)     

Neuronal activity related to vertical eye movement in the region of the interstitial nucleus of Cajal in alert cats

Summary (1) Discharge characteristics of neurons in the region of the interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) were studied in alert cats during spontaneous or visually induced eye movement and sinusoidal vertical (pitch) rotation. Activity of a majority of cells (n = 68) was closely related to vertical eye position with or without bursting activity during on-direction saccades. They were called vertical burst-tonic (n = 62) and tonic (n = 6) neurons. Mean discharge rates for individual cells when the eye was near the primary position ranged from 35 to 133 (mean 75) spikes/s with a coefficient of variation (CV) ranging from 0.04 to 0.29 (mean 0.15). Average rate position curves were linear for the great majority of these cells with a mean slope of 3.9 ± 1.2 SD spikes/s/deg. (2) The burst index was defined as the difference in discharge rate between maximal rate during an on-direction saccade and the tonic rate after the saccade. The values of mean burst index for individual cells ranged from 8 to 352 (mean 135) spikes/s. Tonic neurons had a burst index lower than 60 spikes/s and were distributed in the lower end of the continuous histogram, suggesting that burst-tonic and tonic neurons may be a continuous group with varying degrees of burst components. During off-direction saccades, a pause was not always observed, although discharge rate consistently decreased and pauses were seen when saccades were made further in the off-direction toward recruitment thresholds. Significant positive correlation was observed between average discharge rate during off- as well as on-direction saccades and tonic discharge rate after saccades for individual cells, which was not due to cats making saccades mainly from the primary position. (3) During pitch rotation at 0.11 Hz (±10 deg), burst-tonic and tonic neurons had mean phase lag and gain of 128 (±13 SD) deg and 4.2 (±1.7 SD) spikes/s/deg/s² relative to head acceleration. During pitch rotation of a wide frequency range (0.044–0.495 Hz), the values of phase lag were mostly constant (120–140 deg), while simultaneously recorded vertical VOR showed the mean phase lag of 178 deg. Vertical eye position sensitivity and pitch gain (re head position) showed significant positive correlation. (4) Comparison of the discharge characteristics of vertical burst-tonic and tonic neurons with those of secondary vestibulo-ocular neurons (Perlmutter et al. 1988) and extraocular motoneurons (Delgado-Garcia et al. 1986) in alert cats suggests that signals carried by burst-tonic and tonic neurons are partially processed signals in vertical VOR and saccades, and different from oculomotor signals. (5) The INC region also contained many cells that did not belong to the above groups but whose activity was clearly modulated by pitch rotation (called pitch cells for the present study, n = 44). Many (n = 23) showed some correlation with vestibular quick phases, and some (n = 12) with visually elicited eye movement, although they showed significantly lower and more irregular discharge rates than burst-tonic and tonic neurons (mean discharge rate when the eye was near the primary position 34, range 3–91, spikes/s; mean CV 0.61, range 0.15–1.7). During pitch rotation they showed the mean phase lag and gain of 119(±26 SD) deg and 3.2(±2.1 SD) spikes/s/deg/s². Some cells showed a much lower phase lag of about 90 deg. (6) More than half the burst-tonic, tonic and pitch cells tested were antidromically activated by stimuli applied to the ponto-medullary medial longitudinal fasciculus at the level of abducens nucleus, while none of them were activated from the inferior olive, suggesting that vertical eye position signals carried by some burst-tonic and tonic neurons are carried to the lower brainstem.     

Orientation of dendrites in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the monkey

Summary Quantitative analysis of dendritic orientation in rapid Golgi sections of the lateral geniculate nucleus of Old World monkeys was performed with the help of a computer-microscope and a tree-analysing program. The orientation of intermediate and terminal dendritic segments of parvocellular and magnocellular multipolar neurons was measured at different ages in relationship to a reference line defined by the major direction of afferent fibres visualized in Golgi preparations and by silver staining. The direction of fibre bundles crossing the nucleus is approximately perpendicular to the layers near their apex, but more oblique laterally and medially. There is a clear tendency for terminal dendritic segments of both parvocellular and magnocellular neurons to be oriented preferentially along these fibres and fewer are perpendicular to them. The orientation of intermediate segments is much less clear, showing a more random orientation with regard to the fibres. There is no obvious influence of the order of branching or of the age of the animal (between late gestation and maturity) on the orientation of terminal and intermediate dendritic segments. A parallel study (Leuba and Garey 1984) suggests that there is greater plasticity in the terminal part of the dendritic tree, and it is possible that the maturation of afferent fibres causes these terminal segments to orient along them very early during normal development.     

Vestibular nuclei activity and eye movements in the alert monkey during sinusoidal optokinetic stimulation

Summary In the alert monkey (Macaca fascicularis) vestibular nuclei neurons and eye movements were recorded during sinusoidal optokinetic stimulation in the horizontal plane at frequencies between 0.02–3.3 Hz. Maximal stimulus velocity was generally kept constant at 40 deg/s, except for frequencies above 1 Hz. Eye movements showed a nystagmuslike pattern up to 0.2 Hz with a gain (change in eye position/change in cylinder position) greater than 0.8; at frequencies above 1 Hz the gain dropped to 0.35 at 3.3 Hz. A decrease in gain was accompanied by an increasing phase lag. Recordings in the vestibular nuclei were obtained from vestibular only and vestibular plus saccade neurons. Neurons with a strong eye position signal (vestibular plus position) were excluded. The vast majority (87%) of neurons were not modulated at 0.2 Hz or higher frequencies of sinusoidal optokinetic stimulation, and were classified as low-frequency type neurons. Compared to the response at constant stimulus velocity, sensitivity (imp·s^-1/deg·s^-1) dropped to 72% at 0.03 Hz and 16% at 0.1 Hz. A few neurons (13%) responding at 0.2 Hz (sensitivity on average 65% of the constant velocity response) were classified as high-frequency type neurons. They did not respond above 1.0 Hz and showed no modulation with individual eye movements. The results suggest that the activity in the groups of vestibular nuclei neurons tested here is insufficient to account for the eye movements in response to sinusoidal optokinetic stimulation at frequencies above 0.1 Hz. Thus additional neuronal mechanisms have to be involved in the generation of high frequency optokinetic responses, a likely structure being the flocculus in the cerebellum. Whether the high-frequency type vestibular nuclei neurons play a role for this response has yet to be determined.Supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB 200 A 2R.B. was a Alexander v. Humboldt fellow.