bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Peripheral neural correlates of magnitude of cutaneous pain and hyperalgesia: simultaneous recordings in humans of sensory judgments of pain and evoked responses in nociceptors with C-fibers
Authors: Torebjork H. E. , LaMotte R. H. , Robinson C. J.
Published: December 2017

The peripheral neuronal correlates of heat pain elicited from normal skin and from skin made hyperalgesic following a mild heat injury were studied by simultaneously recording, in humans, evoked responses in C mechanoheat (CMH) nociceptors and the magnitude estimations of pain obtained from the same subjects. Subjects made continuous magnitude ratings of pain elicited by short-duration stimuli of 39-51 degrees C delivered to the hairy skin of the calf or foot before and at varying intervals of time after a heat injury induced by a conditioning stimulus (CS) of 50 degrees C, 100 s or 48 degrees C, 360 s. The stimuli were applied with a thermode pressed against the nociceptor's receptive field. For heat stimulations of normal skin, that is, uninjured skin, pain thresholds in 14 experiments with nine subjects ranged from 41 to 49 degrees C, whereas response thresholds for most of the 14 CMH nociceptors were 41 degrees C (in two cases, 43 degrees C). The latter suggested that spatial summation of input from many nociceptors was necessary at pain threshold. An intensity-response function was obtained for each CMH by relating the total number of nerve impulses evoked per stimulus to stimulus temperature. A corresponding magnitude scaling function for pain was obtained by relating the maximum rating of pain elicited by each stimulus to stimulus temperature. The relation between the subject's scaling function and the intensity-response function of his CMH nociceptor varied somewhat from one experiment to the next, regardless of whether the results were obtained from the same or from different subjects. However, when averages were computed for all 14 tests, there was a near linear relationship between the mean number of impulses elicited in the CMHs and the median ratings of pain, over the range of 45-51 degrees C. It was concluded that the magnitude of heat pain sensation was more closely related to the magnitude of response in a population of CMH nociceptors than in any individual nociceptor. At 0.5 min after the CS, the pain thresholds of most subjects were elevated, and the magnitude ratings of pain elicited by supra-threshold stimuli were lower than pre-CS values (hypoalgesia). Corresponding changes were seen in the increased thresholds and decreased responses (fatigue) of most CMHs. By 5-10 min after the CS, the pain thresholds of most subjects were lower, and their magnitude ratings of suprathreshold stimuli were greater than pre-CS values (hyperalgesia).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine on membrane potential, contractility, accumulation of cyclic AMP, and Ca2+ movements in anterior aorta and ventricle of Aplysia
Authors: Sawada M. , Ichinose M. , Ito I. , Maeno T. , McAdoo D. J.
Published: December 2017

Effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin; 5-HT) on the anterior aorta and ventricle muscle of the marine gastropod Aplysia are characterized. Bath-applied 5-HT depolarizes muscle fibers and causes tension increases in both the anterior aorta and ventricle above ca. 10(-9) M. Iontophoretically applied 5-HT caused localized depolarizations of anterior aorta muscle fibers. 5-HT increases the levels of adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) markedly in the anterior aorta of A. kurodai and A. californica and in the ventricle of A. kurodai. Effects of 5-HT on the contractility of and cAMP synthesis in the anterior aorta and ventricle are both blocked by methysergide. 5-HT and cAMP analogs stimulate 45Ca2+ efflux from the ventricle, implying that the effects of cAMP on contractility involve intracellular Ca2+ movements.
L-glutamic acid, a possible neurotransmitter to anterior aorta of Aplysia
Authors: Sawada M. , Gibson D. , McAdoo D. J.
Published: December 2017

The effect of L-glutamate on muscle fibers of the anterior aorta of the marine gastropod Aplysia are characterized. Iontophoretically applied L-glutamate depolarized anterior aorta muscle fibers in 14% of the applications; no response was detected in the other applications. Responses to iontophoretically applied L-glutamate desensitize rapidly and are antagonized by 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (2-APB). 2-APB also blocked excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) in the anterior aorta. No significant response to D-glutamate was observed. These characteristics match those of L-glutamate at the arthropod neuromuscular junction. Bath-applied L-glutamate also depolarizes anterior aorta muscle fibers, by a mechanism clearly different from that of iontophoretically applied L-glutamate. Present results make L-glutamate a candidate neurotransmitter to molluscan circulatory muscles.
Intracellular recording from pectoral fin motoneurons of the stingray Dasyatis sabina, an elasmobranch fish
Authors: Williams B. J. , Droge M. H. , Leonard R. B.
Published: December 2017

Intracellular recordings were made from antidromically identified pectoral fin motoneurons in unanesthetized, decerebrate stingrays (Dasyatis sabina). These recordings had the three all-or-none components seen in other vertebrate motoneuron recordings. About 25% of the impalements had resting membrane potentials that were greater than -80 mV, which is larger than those of motoneurons from other vertebrate species. A novel depolarizing afterpotential (DAP) is associated with the isolated action potential occurring at the first node of Ranvier of the axon (M-spike). Occlusion experiments exclude recurrent events as the source of this potential. A capacitive source for the DAP is postulated. Using morphological and passive electrical data on motoneurons from previous studies, calculations of the passive decay of the nodal spike indicate that the membrane resistance of the initial segment is low and nearly equal to that of nodal membrane. The soma-dendritic (SD) spike is followed by a prominent, humped delayed depolarization (DD). The DD is temporally associated with the onset of the action potential produced by the initial segment (IS spike). Sources of the long-lasting period of repolarization recorded with the IS spike, which may underlie the DD, are postulated. The afterhyperpolarization (AHP) of stingray motoneurons tends to be shorter and smaller in amplitude than that of other vertebrate motoneurons. A negligible conductance change was often found during the period following an SD spike. No significant correlation was found between AHP duration and axonal conduction velocity. The input conductance of stingray motoneurons ranged between 1.5 X 10(-7) and 13.3 X 10(-7) S. The relationship between input conductance and axonal conduction velocity was determined from 42 motoneurons. These data were fitted by a power function with an exponent of 1.7, indicating that, in terms of membrane conductance properties, large stingray motoneurons are simply scaled-up versions of the small motoneurons.
Recovery and perturbation of paw-shake responses in spinal cats
Authors: Sabin C. , Smith J. L.
Published: December 2017

Paw-shake responses (PSRs) were evoked by wrapping masking tape around the hind-paw in nine cats spinalized at the T12 level either at 2 or 12 wk of age or as young adults (10-12 mo). Electromyographic responses of ankle extensors (LG and SOL) and one ankle flexor (TA) were recorded through the 6th mo after cord transection. Activity of the LG was used to determine the cycle characteristics. Cycle characteristics did not differ among cats spinalized at different ages. The average PSR, consisting of 11 cycles with a cycle time of 85 ms, was similar to the PSR of normal adult cats (16). Activity in the TA and LG muscles alternated with the onset of the flexor burst occurring at 52% of the extensor cycle. Burst durations averaged 39 and 57 ms for LG and TA muscles, respectively. Relatively normal PSRs were evoked within 48 h following cordotomy of the young-adult cats; differences being that the responses were elicited less frequently with fewer and slightly longer cycle times than normal. Within 2 wk following cord transection, PSR parameters returned to normal values. In the spinal cats, the SOL was active during PSR, showing either tonic low-level activity or discrete bursts that were coactive with the LG. In normal adult cats, the slow extensor (SOL) is usually inactive (16). In spinal cats, participation of the SOL may depend on a conversion of muscle units from slow to fast contracting (8, 13) or on the absence of inhibition of slow motor units from descending tracts (11). Both mechanisms are discussed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Discharge properties of dorsal medullary inspiratory neurons: relation to pulmonary afferent and phrenic efferent discharge
Authors: Cohen M. I. , Feldman J. L.
Published: December 2017

In decerebrate paralyzed cats ventilated with a cycle-triggered pump system that delivered inflation during the central inspiratory (I) phase (indicated by efferent phrenic discharge), activity of 90 neurons with inspiratory-modulated discharge was recorded in the region of the ventrolateral nucleus of tractus solitarius (vlNTS) in the medulla. Of these, 82 had centrally originating I patterns (69 augmenting, 13 decrementing), and 8 were "pump" neurons. The neurons were classified into functional types by the application of inflation tests, the main test being withholding of the inflation usually delivered during the central I phase. This maneuver eliminated phasic pulmonary afferent input and produced lengthening of the I phase. The neurons' responses were heterogeneous, and were classified as: excitation by inflation (inflation(+], no significant effect of inflation (inflation(0], and depression by inflation (inflation(-]. Application of inflation during the expiratory (E) phase only rarely produced excitation of central I neurons. The I neurons excited by inflation correspond to the "I-beta" neurons of earlier studies. On the basis of the multimodal distribution of their discharge onset times relative to phrenic onset, they were classified as early onset or late onset. In contrast, the inflation(0) and inflation(-) neurons, which correspond to the "I-alpha" neurons, almost exclusively had early onsets. The pump neurons could be distinguished from the inflation(+) I neurons by the effects of inflations delivered during E: the former were equally excited by inflations during E and during I, while the latter were not excited or were minimally excited by inflation during E. Thus, the pump neurons had lung afferent inputs but no inputs from the central I pattern generator, while the inflation(+) I neurons had both kinds of input. The neurons having decrementing discharge during I (early inspiratory and expiratory-inspiratory) were depressed by inflation. Cross-correlation histograms (CCH) of unit firing versus whole phrenic (contralateral and ipsilateral) activity on a short time scale (milliseconds) were computed; the majority of these had high-frequency oscillations, with mean period of 14.6 +/- 3.6 (SD) ms. The CCHs for the different groups of neurons were analyzed with respect to a) strength of correlation as a function of laterality and b) lag of the main correlation peak. Both the inflation(0) and inflation(+) neuronal groups had correlation properties suggesting that these neurons monosynaptically excite phrenic motoneurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Picrotoxin-induced epileptiform activity in hippocampus: role of endogenous versus synaptic factors
Authors: Hablitz J. J.
Published: December 2017

Picrotoxin-(PTX) induced epileptiform activity was studied in guinea pig hippocampal slices maintained in vitro, using intra- and extracellular recording techniques. The observed pattern of spontaneous and evoked epileptiform activity was quite complex. Spontaneous epileptiform events originated in the CA3 region and subsequently spread or propagated to CA1. Activation of CA1 could then reactivate CA3. This reverberation of activity was seen also following stimulation of the mossy fiber afferents from the dentate gyrus to CA3. Stimulation of fibers in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 region could trigger, at short latency, epileptiform activity that either was localized in CA1 or also occurred in CA3, with a late secondary discharge in CA1. This is attributed to a backfiring of the Schaffer collaterals and illustrates the ability of a variety of CA3 inputs to trigger epileptiform activity. Bath-applied PTX, at concentrations of 50-200 microM, had no apparent effect on the resting membrane potential or input resistance of the CA3 cells tested. Depolarizing current pulses elicited characteristic endogenous-burst responses that were not altered by PTX. Synaptic activity evoked by mossy fiber stimulation was altered markedly by PTX. The pattern of observed changes indicated that PTX reduced inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) amplitudes, resulting in the appearance of repetitive (presumably recurrent) excitatory inputs. Paroxysmal depolarizing shifts ( PDSs ) were generated by the coalescence of these excitatory inputs. Two types of spontaneous bursting were observed after PTX application. The first type was nonepileptiform , all or none in nature, and its frequency was voltage dependent. The second type of spontaneous burst was the PDS. It was epileptiform in character because it was associated with the synchronous discharge of many neurons. It was graded in nature, and its frequency was voltage independent. The graded nature of the PDS was demonstrated by varying the duration and intensity of the orthodromic stimulation. Trains of stimulation could produce PDSs that lasted 500-800 ms. A refractory period was observed following a PDS. By varying the strength of the orthodromic stimulation, it was possible to demonstrate that for the intervals tested this was a relative, not absolute, refractory period. Intracellular recordings in CA3 neurons indicated that each spontaneous PDS was followed by an afterhyperpolarization (AHP).
Stimulus rate dependence of regional cerebral blood flow in human striate cortex, demonstrated by positron emission tomography
Authors: Fox P. T. , Raichle M. E.
Published: December 2017

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between the repetition rate of a simple sensory stimulus and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the human brain. Positron emission tomography (PET), using intravenously administered H2(15)O as the diffusible blood-flow tracer, was employed for all CBF measurements. The use of H2(15)O with PET allowed eight CBF measurements to be made in rapid sequence under multiple stimulation conditions without removing the subject from the tomograph, thus minimizing changes in base-line CBF and in head position due to longer intervals between scans. Nine normal volunteers each underwent a series of eight H2(15)O PET measurements of CBF. Initial and final scans were made during visual deprivation. The six intervening scans were made during visual activation with patterned-flash stimuli given in random order at 1.0-, 3.9-, 7.8-, 15.5-, 33.1-, and 61-Hz repetition rates. In each subject the region of greatest rCBF increase was determined. Within this region the rCBF was determined for every test condition and then expressed as the percentage change from the value of the initial unstimulated scan (rCBF% delta). Anatomical localization of the region of greatest rCBF response was performed employing bony landmarks from a lateral skull radiograph, a template of the cranium created from a transmission attenuation scan and a stereotaxic atlas. In every subject, striate cortex rCBF% delta varied systematically with stimulus rate. Between 0 and 7.8 Hz, rCBF% delta was a linear function of stimulus repetition rate. The rCBF response peaked at 7.8 Hz and then declined. The rCBF% delta during visual stimulation was significantly greater than that during visual deprivation for every stimulus rate except 1.0 Hz. The anatomical localization of the region of peak rCBF response was determined for every subject to be the mesial occipital lobes along the calcarine fissure, primary visual cortex. We conclude that stimulus rate is a significant determinant of rCBF response in the visual cortex. Investigators of brain responses to selective activation procedures should be aware of the potential effects of stimulus rate on rCBF and other measurements of cerebral metabolism. For cerebral responses to selective activation to be meaningfully interpreted, the stimulus repetition rate must be taken into consideration. Response amplitude may be maximized by proper rate selection or be undetectable due to selection of too high or too low a repetition rate. Stimulus rate must be controlled for when responses to unlike stimuli or performance tasks are compared or ambiguities will be present as to whether response differences are
Synaptic and mechanical coupling between type-identified motor units and individual spindle afferents of medial gastrocnemius muscle of the cat
Authors: Munson J. B. , Fleshman J. W. , Zengel J. E. , Sypert G. W.
Published: December 2017

Experiments were performed to test the possibility that motor unit-muscle spindle pairs that are coupled especially strongly mechanically will also be coupled especially strongly synaptically ("weighted ensemble input": Ref. 4). Synaptic and mechanical coupling between one or two individual muscle spindle afferents and individual motor units of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle were measured in barbiturate-anesthetized cats. Synaptic coupling was assessed by measuring the amplitude of single-fiber monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) generated in motoneurons by individual spindle afferents. Mechanical coupling was assessed by measuring the alteration in discharge rate of these spindle afferents caused by tetanic activation of the same motor units. Afferents were classified as primary or secondary on the basis of conduction velocity and response to muscle stretch and contraction. Motor units were classified as slow twitch (S); fast twitch, fatigue resistant (FR); fast twitch, intermediate fatigue resistance (FI); and fast twitch, fatigue sensitive (FF) on the basis of twitch contraction time and resistance to fatigue. In 85% of 138 motor unit-primary afferent interactions tested, tetanic activation of the single motor unit unloaded (i.e., decreased the discharge rate of) the primary afferent. A very weak though significant correlation was found between tetanic contraction strength and primary afferent unloading. In 66% of 155 motor unit-secondary afferent interactions tested, tetanic activation of the single motor unit unloaded the secondary afferent. Again, afferent unloading was but weakly related to tetanic contraction strength. Single-fiber EPSPs generated by primary or secondary muscle spindle afferents were recorded in type-identified motor units. EPSPs generated by primary afferents were significantly larger in oxidative (S + FR) than in glycolytic (FF) motor units. No such differences were seen for EPSPs generated by secondary afferents. The magnitude of the EPSP generated in a motoneuron by a spindle afferent was compared to the magnitude of the unloading of that afferent by tetanic activation of the corresponding motor unit. Overall, no relationship was found between these measures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Response of cerebellum to stimulation of telencephalon in the catfish (Ictalurus nebulosus)
Authors: Lee L. T.
Published: December 2017

In the siluroid teleost Ictalurus nebulosus, averaged evoked potentials and unit responses were recorded from various parts of the cerebellum following electrical stimulation applied to the telencephalon. Responses are most readily evoked in the cerebellum when area dorsalis pars centralis (Dc), a group of scattered large cells in the middle of the telencephalon, is stimulated. The configuration of the evoked field potentials differs according to the rate of stimulation. At a relatively low repetition rate, 0.5/s or lower, the response takes the shape of a positive wave, Pmol2, peaking at about 58 ms in the molecular layer. In the granular layer, the response is primarily a negative wave, Ngr1, followed by a slow positive deflection, Pgr3, with peak latencies of 52 and 130 ms, respectively. Ngr1 appears to be the result of summed mossy fiber-granule cell synaptic activations, with Pmol2 its concomitant passive source. No neuronal basis can be proposed for Pgr3. At higher rates of stimulation (greater than 2/S), the response to each shock is of longer latency and more complex. The stabilized waveform (i.e., after 5-9 cycles) is dominated by a surface-negative wave, Nmol, peaking at about 80 ms. The negative wave disappears at about 300 micron below the surface (slightly above the level where Purkinje cells are located) where it is replaced by a positive and negative sequence, P-Npur, peaking at about 80 and 160 ms, respectively. Both responses are bilaterally distributed but the ipsilateral responses are usually larger in amplitude and shorter in latency. Rostrocaudally, a latency gradient with longer rostral latencies is also found in both responses. To facilitate further comparative studies, the changes of peak latency and amplitude with stimulus strength of these two patterns of response were examined. Other dynamic characteristics of these two patterns of response were also examined and compared by stimulating with pairs and short trains of electric shocks. In discussing the functional implications of these findings, this telencephalocerebellar pathway appears to be a striocerebellar pathway.
Effects of stimulation of corpus callosum on precentral neuron activity in the awake monkey
Authors: Matsunami K. , Hamada I.
Published: December 2017

The effects of stimulation of the corpus callosum (CC) on precentral neurons were studied in monkeys performing motor tasks with either forelimb. Of a total of 246 precentral neurons that were tested with CC stimulation, 70 were orthodromically and 12 were antidromically activated. The percentages of neurons orthodromically activated by CC stimulation were the same in pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) (31%) and non-PTNs (31%). The mean latency of neuronal activation by CC stimulation was similar in PTNs and non-PTNs. Precentral neurons were divided into two groups with respect to muscular contractions evoked by intracortical stimulation: neurons related to finger, wrist, and elbow movements (distal group) and those related to shoulder or axial movements (proximal group). The percentages of neurons orthodromically activated by CC stimulation were similar in both groups; 25% in distal and 29% in proximal groups. However, the mean latency of orthodromic CC activation was significantly shorter for the proximal than for the distal group. Precentral neurons were classified into three groups; neurons related to finger and/or wrist movement tasks (F-W group), those related to arm movement tasks in addition to finger and/or wrist tasks (F, W + A group), and those related to arm movements only (A group). The percentages of neurons orthodromically activated by CC stimulation were similar in the three groups. The mean latencies of neuronal activities were a little longer in the F-W group than in the A group or the F, W + A group. Precentral neurons were classified into three groups in relation to ipsilateral or contralateral forelimb movements: neurons related to ipsilateral movements (ipsi neurons, n = 13), those related to ipsilateral as well as contralateral movements (bilat neurons, n = 50) and those related to contralateral movements (contra neurons, n = 136). The percentages of neurons orthodromically activated by CC stimulation were 15 (2/13, ipsi neurons), 24.0 (12/50, bilat neurons), and 25.0% (34/136, contra neurons), respectively. The mean latencies of neuronal activation were compared between two groups; one group was composed of ipsi and bilat neurons, and the other group was of contra neurons. The mean latency was a little shorter for the ipsi + bilat group than for the contra group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Linear integration of convergent visual inputs in an oculomotor reflex pathway
Authors: Glantz R. M. , Nudelman H. B. , Waldrop B.
Published: December 2017

The functional connectivity between identified visual interneurons [sustaining fibers (SF)] and oculomotor neurons was assessed by simultaneous recording and cross-correlation analysis. A small group of SFs exhibit excitatory functional connections to an identified tonic oculomotor neuron. The excitatory interactions are found exclusively between SFs and oculomotor neurons with similar and/or overlapping excitatory receptive fields. A second group of SFs exhibit inhibitory connections to motor neurons. The excitatory receptive fields of these SFs correspond to the inhibitory receptive fields of the motor neurons. The collective action of the SFs is sufficient to produce all of the steady-state visual behavior of the motor neurons including the increment in firing rate elicited by illumination, unique features of the motor neuron receptive field, and differential sensitivity to blue light and polarized light. Pairs of SFs that converge on the same motor neuron sum their effects linearly. Thus the joint interaction of two SFs on a motor neuron is equal to the sum of the two postsynaptic effects taken separately. Coactivation of excitatory and inhibitory SF inputs to a motor neuron results in a partial cancellation of their postsynaptic effects on the motor neuron's firing rate. The antagonistic interactions protect the system from perturbations by stray light, visual adaptation, and variations in the central excited state. The ensemble information code, at the SF level of the optomotor pathway, is a set of differentially weighted mean firing rates. The weightings reflect differences in the strengths of the several SF-to- motor neuron interactions. One consequence of these differences is a selective weighting of the effects of illumination (in different regions of visual space) on the compensatory eye reflex.
Neural circuits in the flight system of the locust
Authors: Robertson R. M. , Pearson K. G.
Published: December 2017

Circuitry in the flight system of the locust, Locusta migratoria, was investigated by use of intracellular recording and staining techniques. Neuronal connections were established by recording simultaneously from neuropile segments of pairs of identified interneurons. Brief depolarizing current pulses delivered to interneurons 301 and 501 reset the flight rhythm in a phase-dependent manner, thus establishing the importance of these neurons in rhythm generation. Interneuron 301 was found to make a strong delayed excitatory connection with 501 and to receive a short-latency inhibitory connection from 501. The circuit formed by 301 and 501 appears suited for promoting rhythmicity in the flight system. The delayed excitatory potential recorded in 501 following each spike of 301 was reversed by hyperpolarizing 501. This potential and short-latency inhibitory postsynaptic potentials from 301 to other interneurons were blocked with the application of picrotoxin. We conclude that the delayed excitation is produced via a disynaptic pathway from 301 to 501, with 301 inhibiting in a graded manner the tonic release of transmitter from one or more unidentified intercalated neurons. Interconnections between the 301-501 circuit and other identified interneurons were discovered. This circuitry can account for two features of the flight motor pattern recorded in deafferented preparations. These features are the constant-latency relationship between depolarizations in elevator and depressor motoneurons and the relatively constant duration of depressor motoneuron bursts. The locust flight system shares general features with other described rhythm-generating systems. These include the occurrence of graded interactions, the probability of multiple oscillatory mechanisms, and a predominance of inhibitory connections. Its uniqueness lies in the way that components and processes are assembled and operate.
Sequential activation of neurons in primate motor cortex during unrestrained forelimb movement
Authors: Murphy J. T. , Wong Y. C. , Kwan H. C.
Published: December 2017

We trained monkeys to perform an unrestrained, reaching movement of the arm. Electromyogram (EMG) recordings of forelimb muscles revealed sequential activation, proximal to distal, of muscle groups involved in the task. The delay in onset of EMG activity between proximal (shoulder and elbow) and distal (wrist and finger) muscles was approximately 60 ms. We identified the neurons in the forelimb area of the contralateral motor cortex as controlling particular joints by previously defined criteria involving responses to somatosensory stimulation and effects of intracortical microstimulation. Many cells discharged prior to the onset of EMG activity acting on the appropriate joint, whereas others began firing at a later phase of the movement. The population of all proximal cells altered discharge patterns approximately 60 ms earlier than the population of distal cells. A small percentage of cells showed an initial inhibitory change in discharge frequency, and this inhibition typically occurred prior to the excitatory changes seen in the majority of cells. The results are discussed in terms of the "nested-zone" model of the forelimb motor cortex. The data support one of the predictions of this model, namely that discharges of identified cells within the cortical zones are causally related to voluntary movement at appropriate forelimb joints.
Effects of unilateral lesions of the flocculus on optokinetic and vestibuloocular reflexes of the rabbit
Authors: Barmack N. H. , Pettorossi V. E.
Published: December 2017

The horizontal optokinetic reflex (HOKR) and the horizontal vestibuloocular reflex (HVOR) were tested in 21 rabbits before and after unilateral lesions were made in the left cerebellar flocculus. The immediate effect, observed within 15 min following placement of a floccular lesion, was a conjugate nystagmus with the slow phase toward the side opposite to the lesion when the animal was placed in total darkness. This spontaneous nystagmus lasted from several hours to two days depending on the extent of damage to the flocculus. It was reversed in sign if the subjacent vestibular nuclei or vestibular nerve were damaged by the operation, and it was totally absent if the unilateral floccular lesions were made in rabbits that had been bilaterally labyrinthectomized. The spontaneous drift of the eyes observed immediately postoperatively caused a bias in measurement of the HVOR that was dependent on the frequency of vestibular stimulation. When measured 50 days postoperatively the HVOR had a normal gain and normal bias. When measured 50 days postoperatively the monocular HOKR (posteroanterior stimulation of the left eye) was significantly reduced in gain at stimulus velocities below 5 degrees/s. A quantitative anatomical analysis of the degeneration of inferior olivary neurons caused by lesions of the flocculus demonstrated contralateral cell loss of as much as 65% of the dorsal cap neuronal population. These data reveal a permanent deficit in the HOKR, but not the HVOR, following unilateral floccular lesions and are consistent with the idea that the flocculus contributes to the regulation of the low-velocity eye movements through the inhibitory modulation of the activity of the subjacent vestibular nuclei.
Distribution of oligosynaptic group I input to the cat medial gastrocnemius motoneuron pool
Authors: Powers R. K. , Binder M. D.
Published: December 2017

To characterize the oligosynaptic group I afferent input to the cat medial gastrocneumius (MG) motoneuron pool, the medial branch of the tibial nerve (MTIB: flexor digitorum and hallucis longus, popliteus, tibialis posterior and interosseous nerves), the nerves to flexor digitorum and hallucis longus (FDHL), or the nerves to the quadriceps muscles (QUAD) were stimulated at submaximal group I strength while recording intracellularly from MG motoneurons. Since previous work indicates that stimulation of these nerves at group I strength produces no significant monosynaptic Ia excitation or Renshaw inhibition of MG motoneurons, group I effects were assumed to be predominantly, though not exclusively, due to the action of Ib-fibers. Evidence supporting this assumption is presented in the following paper. MTIB, FDHL, and QUAD postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) were most commonly inhibitory. Since the MTIB, FDHL, and QUAD nerves are composed predominantly of fibers innervating muscles with extensor action, their inhibitory effect on MG motoneurons is consistent with previous findings that stimulation of Ib-afferents in nerves to extensor muscles produces di- and trisynaptic inhibition of extensor motoneurons. However, excitatory effects were observed in about one third of the motoneurons, indicating that oligosynaptic group I input is not homogeneously distributed within the MG motoneuron pool. Variations in QUAD, FDHL, and MTIB PSP pattern and amplitude were correlated with variations in the PSP pattern evoked by stimulation of the sural nerve: excitatory oligosynaptic group I PSPs generally appeared in motoneurons receiving excitatory cutaneous (sural nerve) input, whereas inhibitory PSPs generally appeared in motoneurons receiving some inhibitory cutaneous input and were largest in motoneurons receiving predominantly inhibition from the sural nerve. These variations in QUAD, FDHL, and MTIB PSP pattern and amplitude were not due to variations in resting potential and were only partly due to variations in intrinsic motoneuron properties or motoneuron "type." Our results indicate that activation of these cutaneous and group I muscle afferents can exert similar effects on the MG motoneuron pool. Moreover, the presence of a strong correlation between the distributions of cutaneous and oligosynaptic group I PSPs within a single motoneuron pool is consistent with the results of previous studies that have shown that some of the input to motoneurons from these peripheral afferents is mediated through common interneurons.
Simulation of synaptic depression, posttetanic potentiation, and presynaptic facilitation of synaptic potentials from sensory neurons mediating gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia
Authors: Gingrich K. J. , Byrne J. H.
Published: December 2017

The defensive gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia has proven to be an attractive system for analyzing the neural mechanisms underlying simple forms of learning such as habituation, sensitization, and classic conditioning. Previous studies have shown that habituation is associated with synaptic depression and sensitization with presynaptic facilitation of transmitter release from sensory neurons mediating the reflex. The synaptic depression, in turn, is associated with a decrease in Ca2+ currents in the sensory neurons, whereas presynaptic facilitation with increased Ca2+ currents produced indirectly by a decrease in a novel serotonergic sensitive K+ current. The present work represents an initial quantitative examination of the extent to which these mechanisms account for each of these types of synaptic plasticity. To address these issues a lumped parameter mathematical model of the sensory neuron release process was constructed. Major components of this model include Ca2+-channel inactivation, Ca2+-mediated neurotransmitter release and mobilization, and readily releasable and upstream feeding pools of neurotransmitter. In the model, release of neurotransmitter has a linear function of Ca2+ concentration and is not affected directly by residual Ca2+. The model not only simulates the data of synaptic depression and recovery from depression, but also qualitatively predicts other features of neurotransmitter release that it was not designed to fit. These include features of synaptic depression with high and low levels of transmitter release, posttetanic potentiation, a steep relationship between action potential duration and transmitter release, enhanced release produced by broadening the sensory neuron action potential (presynaptic facilitation), and dramatic synaptic depression with two closely spaced tetraethylammonium (TEA) spikes. The model cannot account fully for synaptic depression with empirically observed somatic Ca2+-current kinetics. Rather a large component of synaptic depression is due to reduction to the pools of releasable neurotransmitter (depletion). In the model when spike durations are greater than 15-20 ms, spike broadening produces little facilitation. However, when spike durations are more physiological, spike broadening leads to enhanced transmitter release.
Roles of aspartate and glutamate in synaptic transmission in rabbit retina. II. Inner plexiform layer
Authors: Bloomfield S. A. , Dowling J. E.
Published: December 2017

Intracellular recordings were obtained from amacrine and ganglion cells in the superfused, isolated retina-eyecup of the rabbit. The putative neurotransmitters aspartate, glutamate, and several of their analogues were added to the superfusate while the membrane potential and light-responsiveness of the retinal neurons were monitored. Both L-aspartate and L-glutamate displayed excitatory actions on the activity of the vast majority of amacrine and ganglion cells studied. However, these agents occasionally appeared to inhibit the responses of the inner retinal neurons by producing hyperpolarization of the membrane potential and blockage of the light-evoked responses. In either case, the effects of aspartate and glutamate were indistinguishable. The glutamate analogues kainate and quisqualate produced strong excitatory effects on the responses of amacrine and ganglion cells at concentrations some 200-fold less than those needed to obtain similar effects with aspartate or glutamate. The aspartate analogue, n-methyl DL-aspartate (NMDLA), also produced strong excitatory effects but was approximately three times less potent than kainate or quisqualate. On one occasion, we encountered a ganglion cell that was depolarized by kainate, but hyperpolarized by NMDLA. The glutamate antagonist alpha-methyl glutamate and the aspartate antagonist alpha-amino adipate effectively blocked the responses of amacrine and ganglion cells. However, on any one cell, one antagonist was always clearly more potent than the other. We examined the actions of the glutamate analogue 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB) on the responses of inner retinal neurons and found that it selectively abolished all "on" activity in the inner retina. Together with our finding that APB selectively abolishes on-bipolar cell responses (see Ref. 6), these data support the hypothesis that on-bipolar cells subserve the "on" activity of amacrine and ganglion cells. Our data suggest that aspartate and glutamate are excitatory transmitters in the inner retina, possibly being released from bipolar cell axon terminals in the inner plexiform layer.
Effects of chronic stress and exercise on age-related changes in end-plate architecture
Authors: Rosenheimer J. L.
Published: December 2017

The effects of chronic stress (foot shock) or stress coupled with exercise (treadmill running) on age-related changes in nerve terminal branch number per end plate were examined in three physiologically different muscles, the diaphragm and two hindlimb muscles, the extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and the soleus, from 24- to 25-mo rats. End-plate structure was examined by use of a silver-gold impregnation of the axon and its terminal arborization and was compared with similar data obtained from 10- and 25-mo sedentary control animals. Stress from foot shock resulted in decreases of 30 and 23%, which are significant at the 0.05 level, in the mean number of nerve terminal branches per end plate in the fast-twitch EDL and diaphragm of 25-mo rats, respectively; a similar, but less dramatic decline in branch number was observed in the end plates of the slow-twitch soleus. Exercise superimposed on foot shock counteracted the decrease in branch number resulting from foot shock alone in the hindlimb muscles; in contrast, terminal branch number within the diaphragm end plates declined an additional 29% in the exercised group. Exercise plus shocking eliminated the significant age-related decrease in branch number in the soleus between the 10- and 25-mo animals; however, it produced a significant decrease in the diaphragm of the 25-mo compared with the 10-mo animals. There was a significant increase in the occurrence of sprouting nerve terminals in the EDL and soleus of exercise-shocked animals compared with 25-mo controls, thus counteracting the age-related decrease observed in the 25-mo compared with 10-mo control animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Pattern evoked potentials from the cat's retina
Authors: Ohzawa I. , Freeman R. D.
Published: December 2017

We have studied electroretinograms (ERG) in the cat using phase-reversed sinusoidal gratings as a stimulus. Our purpose was to characterize response properties of this type of ERG. One basic question we addressed was whether the response to a grating stimulus is actually pattern specific. For the purpose of comparison, we used the same stimulus to investigate mass potentials from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the visual cortex. The pattern ERG consists mainly of a vitreous negative after potential peaking shortly (120-200 ms) after reversal of the pattern. There is a notable absence in the pattern ERG of a b-wave that, however, can be elicited by a step increase of luminance over a uniform field. Pattern ERG amplitudes decrease monotonicaly with increasing spatial frequency and show no low-frequency attenuation when the pattern is phase reversed in square-wave fashion. This is markedly different than evoked potentials from the LGN and visual cortex that show band-pass characteristics. On the other hand, sinusoidal phase reversal reveals a clear attenuation of the pattern ERG amplitude at low spatial frequencies, whereas this type of stimulation produces very poor responses from LGN and visual cortex. The low spatial-frequency attenuation in the pattern ERG shows that the generating mechanism involves lateral interactions. There is thus a clear pattern-specific component in the pattern ERG. The pattern ERG has a surprisingly high contrast threshold relative to those estimated from cortical and LGN evoked potentials. Above threshold, pattern ERG response amplitude increases rapidly with contrast, but it often shows saturation at high contrast levels. These saturation points are generally high when contrast thresholds are high so that the rising portion of the contrast-response functions have fairly uniform slopes. Contrast-response curves from the LGN and cortical potentials are quite different from those for the retina in that amplitudes increase approximately linearly with log contrast over a 2-log-unit range (1 to 100%).
Velocity selectivity in the cat visual system. I. Responses of LGN cells to moving bar stimuli: a comparison with cortical areas 17 and 18
Authors: Orban G. A. , Hoffmann K. P. , Duysens J.
Published: December 2017

Velocity selectivity of 92 LGN cells was measured quantitatively using long, narrow light or dark bars of high contrast in N2O-anesthetized and paralyzed cats. The optimal velocities of the main responses to a moving light bar, representing center responses (i.e., due to entering the ON center or leaving the OFF center) were significantly lower for X-cells than for Y-cells. The velocity upper cutoffs were significantly higher for Y-cells than for X-cells, whereas responses to slow movement were significantly stronger in X-cells than in Y-cells. The velocity range over which secondary responses were found was significantly lower for X-cells than for Y-cells. The velocity characteristics of LGN cells were compared with those measured under precisely the same experimental conditions in areas 17 and 18. Overall, the LGN cells were sensitive to much faster velocities than cortical cells. The differences between these cortical areas were found to be much larger than the differences in velocity selectivity observed in the LGN between X- and Y-cells or within the X and Y classes. In particular, the ubiquitous presence of cells responding only to very low velocities (less than 10 degrees/s) in area 17 subserving central vision cannot directly reflect LGN velocity selectivity, since such extreme preference for low velocities was not found in the LGN sample. Changes in eccentricity had much less effect on the velocity characteristics in the LGN than in the cortex. The latency of responses to a moving light bar as estimated using a spatial lag-velocity method was on average 46 and 37 ms for X-ON and Y-ON cells as opposed to 75 and 68 ms for X-OFF and Y-OFF cells, respectively. These latencies were slightly shorter than the ON and OFF latencies (time to peak) measured with stationary presentations of the same light bar (averages 61 and 53 ms for X-ON and Y-ON, 113 and 93 ms for X-OFF and Y-OFF). For a moving dark bar the average latency was 35 and 29 ms for X-OFF and Y-OFF cells, respectively, whereas it was 47 and 54 ms for X-ON and Y-ON cells. There were no significant differences in response strength between ON and OFF cells nor between X- and Y-cells. Many Y-OFF cells had nonlinear spatial lag-velocity relationships. This indicates a shift in response origin from distal to more proximal parts of the receptive field when going from low to high velocities.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Presynaptic inhibition in the crayfish CNS: pathways and synaptic mechanisms
Authors: Kirk M. D.
Published: December 2017

I studied the pathways that produce primary afferent depolarization (PAD) and presynaptic inhibition during crayfish escape behavior. Simultaneous intracellular recordings were obtained from interneurons and primary afferent axons in the neuropil of the sixth abdominal ganglion. In several experiments, a sucrose-gap recording of PAD accompanied the intracellular impalements. I have identified PAD-producing inhibitory interneurons (PADIs) that are fired by a single impulse in the lateral (LG) or medial (MG) giant, escape-command axons; the PADIs appear to be directly responsible for presynaptic inhibition of primary afferent input to identified mechanosensory interneurons. PADI spikes, elicited by injection of depolarizing current, produced unitary PAD with constant short latency (mean = 0.97 +/- 0.12 SD ms). The unitary PADs were capable of following PADI impulses one for one at frequencies greater than 100 Hz, and the amplitude of unitary PAD was increased by injection of chloride into the afferent terminals. Therefore, the PADIs appear to directly produce an increase in chloride conductance in the primary afferent terminals. Intracellular injections of Lucifer yellow or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) revealed three morphological types of PADI. Their axonal branches and terminals are bilateral and overlap extensively with the innervation fields of all 10 sensory roots of the sixth ganglion. The three morphological types of PADI were physiologically indistinguishable. In several cases, the impaled PADI was shown to produce unitary PAD in more than one afferent of a given root as well as in afferents of adjacent roots. Therefore, the PADIs appear to diverge widely and contact many afferents in all of the sixth-ganglion sensory roots. Stimulation, caudal to the fifth ganglion, of an MG that had been interrupted rostral to the fifth ganglion produced no PAD in sixth-ganglion afferents. Also, stimulation of an MG or an LG in a surgically isolated sixth abdominal ganglion failed to produce PAD. Therefore, the pathway between the MGs and PADIs is activated exclusively within the rostral abdominal ganglia. Direct stimulation in the second and third abdominal ganglia of the segmental giants (SGs) produced a polysynaptic, suprathreshold response in the PADIs. This response was compound and was not due to the activity of the identified corollary discharge interneurons, CDI-2 and CDI-3, that are fired by the SGs. Therefore, the primary input to the PADIs must come from other, unidentified CDIs that are driven by the SGs. PADIs were not fired by shocks to the sensory portions of any peripheral roots even though these shocks produced PAD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)