Neuronal activity in monkey primary somatosensory cortex is related to expectation of somatosensory and visual go-cues

The present study was to investigate whether neuronal activity in primary somatosensory cortical areas (SI) differs when monkeys expect go-cues of different sensory modalities. Two monkeys made wrist extensions and flexions after steadily holding wrist at a center position. Movements were guided by increases in vibration to the monkey's palm (VIB), visual targets (VIS), or both in combination (COM). Neuronal activity recorded in SI during the early and late phases (i.e., the first and last 250 ms) of the instructed delay periods (IDP) were analyzed. Of 406 neurons recorded during all three paradigms, 263 (64.8%) showed significant changes in firing rates (FR) between the early and late IDP phases during either VIB or VIS trials and were selected for further analyses. The selected neurons were classified as VIB- or VIS-biased, depending on the paradigm (VIB or VIS) in which the greater FR changes occurred. Both increases and decreases in FRs were observed during the analyzed epochs. Most VIB-biased neurons showed the biggest FR changes during VIB trials and the least during VIS trials. Conversely, most VIS-biased neurons had the biggest FR changes during VIS trials and the least during VIB trials. For both VIB- and VIS-biased neurons, however, the FR changes were intermediate during COM trials. These results suggest that SI neurons play an important role in initiating/executing wrist movements. Neurons involved in wrist movements showed biases to the modality of cueing signals. Most SI neurons were biased to only one sensory modality. The expectation-related FR changes suggest different involvement by SI in movement initiation when tasks are guided by vibratory and visual signals.     

An attempt to find vibrissa-related barrels in the primary somatosensory cortex of the cat

An attempt was made to find vibrissa-related barrels in the primary somatosensory cortex in fetal kittens between 53-57 days of gestation. Barrels had not been found in adults of this species. Based on results in some rodent species with obscure barrels, the fetal kittens represented the best opportunity to observe barrels if they exist. The coronal gyrus was thoroughly examined in Nissl preparations and no barrels were found.     

猫皮层体感区躯体伤害感受神经元的电生理特征

应用细胞内记录技术,观察了皮层体感区1576个神经元对伤害性刺激隐神经的诱发反应。电刺激隐神经在SI区伤害感受神经元可引起兴奋性反应、抑制性反应和兴夯与抑制混和性反应三种,吗啡可抑制伤害感受神经元的诱发反应。完成电生理观察后对部分神经元电泳神经生物素进行细胞内形态标记。可见,伤害感受神经与元非伤害感受神经元电生理特性不同,形态特征也存在着差异。此结构在细胞水平为进一步探讨皮层体感区在痛觉感受及调中的作用奠定了基础。     

Contralateral corticofugal projections to cat visual thalamus

Summary Contralateral corticofugal projections from visual cortical areas to thalamic nuclei were demonstrated in the cat using anterograde transport of tritiated proline. Thalamic nuclei receiving projections from contralateral visual cortex include both subdivisions of the lateral-posterior nucleus, the posterior nucleus of Rioch, and the posterior nuclear complex.Abbreviations BIC brachium of the inferior colliculus - BN nucleus of the brachium of the inferior colliculus - BSC brachium of the superior colliculus - C dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, C laminae - CG central gray matter - D nucleus of Darkschewitz - FR fasciculus retroflexus - FTC central tegmental field - H habenula - IPN interpeduncular nucleus - LGNd dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, A laminae - LGNv ventral lateral geniculate nucleus - LP lateral posterior complex - LPi interjacent division of lateral posterior complex - LPl lateral division of lateral posterior complex - LPm medial division of lateral posterior complex - M mammillary body - MGM magnocellular division of medial geniculate nucleus - MGN medial geniculate nucleus - MGP parvocellular division of medial geniculate nucleus - MIN medial interlaminar division of lateral geniculate nucleus - MML medial medullary lamina - NOT nucleus of the optic tract - OT optic tract - P cerebral peduncle - PA anterior pretectal nucleus - PC nucleus of the posterior commissure - PM medial pretectal nucleus - PO posterior nuclear group - PoC posterior commissure - POi intermediate division of posterior nuclear complex - POL pretectal olivary nucleus - POm medial division of posterior nuclear complex - PPT posterior pretectal nucleus - PUL pulvinar - RN red nucleus - RNR posterior nucleus of Rioch - SG suprageniculate nucleus - SGI stratum griseum intermedium of superior colliculus - SGP stratum griseum profundum of superior colliculus - SCSl lower division of stratum griseum superficiale of superior colliculus - SGSu upper division of stratum griseum superficiale of superior colliculus - SN substantia nigra - SO stratum opticum of superior colliculus - TC tectal commissure - III III nerve - IIIN nucleus of III nerve     

An anatomical investigation of visual inputs to the cat orbital cortex

The orbital region of the cortex in the cat is known to be involved in multimodal sensory functions. Visual afferent connections of this area have been investigated using the horseradish peroxidase technique. Our results demonstrate the existence of projections from ipsilateral thalamic nuclei essentially at the suprageniculate and magnocellular medial geniculate junction, well known to have multimodal physiological properties.     

Identification of two populations of corticothalamic neurons in cat primary somatosensory cortex

Summary Extracellular and intracellular recordings of corticothalamic (CT) cells were performed in the primary somatosensory cortex of the cat. CT neurons were antidromically activated by electrically stimulating the ventroposterior lateral (VPL) nucleus of the thalamus and were classified into two types according to their physiological properties. Type 1 had no spontaneous activity and no identifiable somatic receptive field. Type 2 fired action potentials spontaneously and responded to mechanical stimulation of the skin or underlying tissues. Axonal conduction velocities were slower for type 1 cells and their cell bodies were located slightly deeper in the cortex than those of type 2 cells. Both types of CT neurons exhibited inhibitory postsynaptic potentials in response to VPL stimulation but an early synaptic excitation and rebound discharge was observed almost exclusively in type 2 cells. These results suggest that only type 2 CT cells can modify the activity of thalamic neurons through a corticothalamic feedback loop.     

Response of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex of cat following prolonged exposure to strong sinusoidal mechanical stimuli

Psychophysical studies in humans have demonstrated adaptation of the mechanoreceptive submodalities of flutter and vibration after prolonged presentation of a strong adapting, or conditioning, stimulus. In our studies we recorded from single neurons in cat primary somatosensory cortex, and followed a paradigm in which the response of a single unit was measured before and after the presentation of a strong conditioning stimulus. Our findings show no adaptive response in the 30 sec period immediately after cessation of the conditioning stimulus, and suggest that other parallel ascending pathways or somatosensory cortical areas other than SI account for these psychophysical observations.     

Movement induced modulation of afferent transmission to single neurons in the ventroposterior thalamus and somatosensory cortex in rat

Summary Single neurons were simultaneously recorded in the forepaw areas of the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex and ventroposterolateral (VPL) thalamus of awake rats during rest and running behaviors. Movement dependent changes in somatic sensory transmission were tested by generating post-stimulus histograms of these neurons' responses to stimulation through electrodes chronically implanted under the skin of the forepaw, while the aminal ran on a timed treadmill. As viewed in post-paw-stimulus histograms, the evoked unit responses (EURs) could be differentiated into short (4.5 ± 0.1−10.9 ± 0.2 ms) and longer (12.9 ± 0.4 31.3 ± ± 0.9 ms) latency components (“SEURs” and “LEURs”, respectively). The magnitudes of firing during these responses were measured and normalized as percent increases over background firing. By comparison with resting behavior, treadmill movement suppressed both SEURs and LEURs in the thalamus, as well as the cortex. The SEURs, however, were much more strongly suppressed in the SI cortex (−48.3 ± 2.7%) than in the VPL thalamus (−28.1 ± 6.7%). By contrast, similar magnitudes of suppression of LEURs were found in the SI (−25.8 ± 8.6%) and VPL (−26.5 ± 11.1%). These results suggest that the suppression of LEURs observed in the SI cortex may result from modulatory actions on subcortical circuits. Major suppression of SEURs, on the other hand, may occur intracortically, with a minor component ocurring subcortically. Thus, VPL thalamus and SI cortex in the rat appear to be differentially subject to movement related modulation of sensory transmission.     

Single cell responses in cat visual cortex to visual stimulation during iontophoresis of noradrenaline

Summary We studied how iontophoresis of noradrenaline (NA) changes responsiveness of individual cells in the feline visual cortex when their visual receptive fields are stimulated with the appropriate visual stimulus. We found three populations of cortical cells which either increased, decreased or did not change their visual responsiveness during NA iontophoresis. About equal numbers of cells belonged to each of these three groups. In the majority of such cells that changed visual responsiveness during NA iontophoresis and that had measurable amounts of spontaneous activity, the ratio of visually evoked to spontaneous activity (signal-to-noise ratio) improved during NA iontophoresis. This improvement was independent of the direction of changes in the response magnitude to visual stimulation. There was a differential effect of NA on simple and complex visual cortical cells: Although most simple cells (86%) clearly changed their responsiveness during NA iontophoresis, the effects were seen in only one-third of complex cells. Furthermore, the effects on complex cells were usually weak compared to those typically seen in simple cells. In some cases the effects of NA were more complicated than an overall enhancement or suppression of the cortical cell's responses to visual stimulation. The possible dual role of NA in the visual cortex is briefly discussed.Supported by a USPH Grant EY 03409-01 (T.K.) and a grant from Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities (P.H.)     

Flashed pattern-induced activity in the visual system: I. The short latency evoked response recorded from the cat visual cortex

Previous methods for estimating visual acuity have used the visual evoked response conventionally the late visual evoked response components or the steady-state potential. The present experiments were undertaken to evaluate the possible use of short latency flashed pattern evoked responses in estimating pattern dependent activity in the cat visual system. Recordings were made from the skull bone and the dura above the primary visual cortex and intracortically. The visual evoked responses to patterned (checks) and non-patterned light flashes of high intensity and short duration were recorded. The visual evoked response activity recorded from the cortical surface had an onset latency of 14–15 ms. The initial positive-negative potential sequences of the responses were similar for patterned and non-patterned stimuli, however a difference was recorded from 35–40 ms after stimulus. The smallest check size which separated a pattern from a non-pattern VER was in the order of 10 min of arc. The results indicate that the short-latency cortical VER may be used to estimate visual resolution.     

Responses of infragranular neurons in the rat primary somatosensory cortex to forepaw and hindpaw tactile stimuli

Infragranular layers constitute the main output of the primary somatosensory cortex and represent an important stage of cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical integration. We have previously used chronic multiple single-unit recordings to study the spatiotemporal structure of tactile responses of infragranular neurons within the forepaw cortical representation in rats [Tutunculer B, Foffani G, Himes BT, Moxon KA (2006) Structure of the excitatory receptive fields of infragranular forelimb neurons in the rat primary somatosensory cortex responding to touch. Cereb Cortex 16:791-810]. Here we extend our understanding of this structure by studying the overlap between the forepaw and hindpaw cortical representations. We recorded 204 responsive neurons in chronic experiments from eight anesthetized rats. Overall, only 23% of neurons responded exclusively to one paw, 52% of neurons responded to two paws, 19% of neurons responded to three paws, and 5% of neurons responded to all four paws. Quantitative measures of response magnitudes and latencies revealed the following main results. (1) The responses of forepaw neurons overall displayed greater magnitudes and shorter latencies than the responses of hindpaw neurons. (2) The responses to ipsilateral stimuli displayed smaller magnitudes, and longer-and more variable-latencies than the responses to contralateral stimuli. (3) The responses of forepaw neurons to hindpaw stimuli displayed smaller magnitudes and longer latencies than the responses to forepaw stimuli, whereas the responses of hindpaw neurons to forepaw stimuli displayed smaller magnitudes but similar latencies compared with the responses to hindpaw stimuli. These results show that the spatiotemporal structure of tactile responses of infragranular neurons extends across all four paws, and provide the basic architecture for studying physiological integration and pathophysiological reorganization of tactile information in the infragranular layers of the rat primary somatosensory cortex.     

猫初级视区急性毁损对高级视区刺激诱导的c-fos蛋白表达的影响

目的:研究初级视区急性毁损对猫的高级视区刺激诱导的c-fos蛋白表达的影响,探索初级视区毁损后的残留视觉(称盲视)可能机制。方法:本研究采用免疫组织化学检测了初级视区(包括17和18区)急性毁损对猫的高级视区(包括19、20和21区)中立早基因c-fos蛋白基础表达量和刺激诱导的c-fos蛋白表达量的影响,以正常猫为对照。结果:急性毁损初级视区后,高级视区内c-fos免疫阳性神经元密度及c-fos免疫阳性反应的光吸收值(OA)在初级视区毁损猫和正常对照猫之间无显著差异;然而,双侧初级视区毁损猫的高级视区中刺激诱导的c-fos免疫阳性神经元密度比正常猫下降了92%以上,c-fos蛋白免疫阳性反应的OA值下降了78.9%以上。结论:初级视区急性毁损后高级视区的绝大多数神经元失去了对视觉刺激的反应性,因此,初级视区毁损后出现的盲视现象可能主要与皮层下中枢至高级视区的神经通路重组有关。     

Relationship between spatial and spatial-frequency characteristics of receptive fields of cat visual cortex

The spatial (magnitude and eccentricity) and spatial-frequency (optimum frequency and width of pass band) characteristics of the receptive fields of the cat visual cortex were investigated. It was shown that in accordance with the predictions of the theory of piecewise Fourier analysis, linear and quasilinear receptive fields of a single size comprise a modulus in each of the fields of which the index of complexity (ratio of size of field to number of periods of its optimum frequency) equals the optimum frequency multiplied by a coefficient that is constant for the given modulus. Five moduli were found with field sizes of 2.6, 3.8, 5.2, 6.2, and 7.0°, shifting with increase in the size of the modulus towards the periphery of the field of view. In accordance with predictions, when the index of complexity is fixed the width of the pass band declines inversely proportionately to the size of the fields. The obtained data directly support the hypothesis according to which the receptive fields effect a piecewise quasi-Fourier expansion of the image.Translated from Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal SSSR imeni I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 69, No. 5, pp. 614–622, May, 1983.