bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuron activity in monkey vestibular nuclei during vertical vestibular stimulation and eye movements
Authors: Chubb M. C. , Fuchs A. F. , Scudder C. A.
Published: December 2017

To elucidate how information is processed in the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) pathways subserving vertical eye movements, extracellular single-unit recordings were obtained from the vestibular nuclei of alert monkeys trained to track a visual target with their eyes while undergoing sinusoidal pitch oscillations (0.2-1.0 Hz). Units with activity related to vertical vestibular stimulation and/or eye movements were classified as either vestibular units (n = 53), vestibular plus eye-position units (n = 30), pursuit units (n = 10), or miscellaneous units (n = 5), which had various combinations of head- and eye-movement sensitivities. Vestibular units discharged in relation to head rotation, but not to smooth eye movements. On average, these units fired approximately in phase with head velocity; however, a broad range of phase shifts was observed. The activities of 8% of the vestibular units were related to saccades. Vestibular plus eye-position units fired in relation to head velocity and eye position and, in addition, usually to eye velocity. Their discharge rates increased for eye and head movements in opposite directions. During combined head and eye movements, the modulation in unit activity was not significantly different from the sum of the modulations during each alone. For saccades, the unit firing rate either decreased to zero or was unaffected. Pursuit units discharged in relation to eye position, eye velocity, or both, but not to head movements alone. For saccades, unit activity usually either paused or was unaffected. The eye-movement-related activities of the vestibular plus eye-position and pursuit units were not significantly different. A quantitative comparison of their firing patterns suggests that vestibular, vestibular plus eye-position, and pursuit neurons in the vestibular nucleus could provide mossy fiber inputs to the flocculus. In addition, the vertical vestibular plus eye-position neurons have discharge patterns similar to those of fibers recorded rostrally in the medial longitudinal fasciculus. Therefore, our data support the view that vertical vestibular plus eye-position neurons are interneurons of the VOR.
Characteristics of a slow hyperpolarizing synaptic potential in rat hippocampal pyramidal cells in vitro
Authors: Alger B. E.
Published: December 2017

An orthodromically evoked late hyperpolarizing potential (LHP) was studied using intracellular recording techniques in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in vitro. Several tests indicated that the LHP is not blocked by GABA antagonists, but rather comprises the initial portion of the stimulation-induced burst afterhyperpolarization (AHPs) produced in the presence of these antagonists. Bath application of magnesium (Mg) or 8-bromo adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), or intracellular injection of ethyleneglycol-bis (beta-amino-ethylether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) blocked the late portion of the AHPs, at times when the early portion was only slightly or not at all affected. The late part of the AHPs was also associated with the voltage-dependent components of the burst, whereas the early part was not. Both the early part of the burst AHPs and the LHP in standard saline have similar time courses and dependence on membrane potential. The LHP was nullified by hyperpolarization of the membrane in extracellular potassium concentrations [( K]o) of 5.4 mM and below and could be reversed in [K]o above 5.4 mM. The apparent reversal potential for the LHP followed shifts in [K]o as predicted by the Nernst equation and is, therefore, probably a K-dependent potential. No specific antagonist of the LHP from among several K conductance blockers was found, however. An alternative hypothesis, that the LHP might be an electrogenic pump effect was not supported. Ouabain depressed the LHP; however this effect was probably nonspecific and due, in part, to a ouabain-induced increase in [K]o. Decreasing temperature in the range 37-22 degrees C prolonged but did not block the LHP. The LHP was enhanced by increases in extracellular calcium concentration and depressed by high [Mg]o or cadmium. It was associated with a small (14%) decrease in total resting input resistance. In cells depolarized to approximately 0 mV, regenerative voltage-dependent potentials were blocked; however, an LHP still occurred. The LHP was not found to be dependent on the excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP). With weak stimuli LHP and EPSP amplitudes were uncorrelated and the EPSP was more resistant than the LHP to block by high [Mg]o. The LHP continued to occur when the EPSP was reversed in depolarized cells. The LHP may be mediated by interneuronal circuitry within a slice. In GABA antagonists the LHP occasionally occurred spontaneously at regular intervals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Spatial filter characteristics of optic nerve fibers in California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi)
Authors: McCourt M. E. , Jacobs G. H.
Published: December 2017

The spatial response properties of single optic nerve fibers in the California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) were investigated. Results are reported for each of several response classes. Resolution limits determined for 165 spectrally nonopponent optic nerve fibers ranged from 0.1 to 4.2 cycles/degree (c/d), with a mean resolution limit of 1.49 c/d. Directionally selective units possessed the highest resolution limits (mean = 1.91 c/d.) Sustained and transient units possessed mean resolution limits of 1.44 and 1.09 c/d, respectively. The correlation between response and sensitivity measures of spatial tuning was examined for 29 units. Optimal spatial frequency and spatial frequency bandwidth estimates derived from the two measures were highly correlated. As measured from response functions, optimal spatial frequencies of 97 spectrally nonopponent units ranged from 0.1 to 2.2 c/d (mean = 0.44 c/d). Directionally selective units possessed the highest optimal spatial frequencies (mean = 0.60 c/d). Mean optimal spatial frequencies for sustained and transient units were 0.32 and 0.27 c/d, respectively. Mean half-amplitude response bandwidth for 96 optic nerve fibers was 2.80 octaves. Directionally selective units were narrowly tuned, possessing a mean half-amplitude bandwidth of 1.99 octaves. Sustained and transient units had mean half-amplitude response bandwidths of 3.56 and 2.80 octaves, respectively. The response bandwidths of directionally selective optic nerve fibers were highly negatively correlated with optimal spatial frequency; no significant correlation between these measures existed for sustained or transient units. Peak contrast sensitivity in 88 optic nerve fibers ranged from 3.0 to 55.0. Mean contrast sensitivity was 16.7 and did not differ between fiber response classes. Peak contrast sensitivity was not correlated with optimal spatial frequency. Poststimulus time histograms of unit responses to sinusoidal luminance modulation revealed that some sustained units modulate their discharge rates around spontaneous levels and show predominant Fourier amplitude at the fundamental frequency. Transient units possess low levels of spontaneous discharge and respond abruptly to the passage of grating half-cycles, resulting in a characteristically dispersed spectrum of Fourier amplitude. Directionally selective units respond to sinusoidal luminance gratings with an elevation of maintained firing rate and possess moderate Fourier amplitudes corresponding to the fundamental and second harmonic frequencies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Classification of response patterns in cochlear nucleus of barn owl: correlation with functional response properties
Authors: Sullivan W. E.
Published: December 2017

Response patterns of neurons in the cochlear nuclei of the barn owl (Tyto alba) were studied by obtaining poststimulus time histograms (PSTHs) and interspike interval histograms for the response to short tone bursts at the neuron's characteristic frequency. The observed response patterns can be classified according to the scheme developed for neurons of the mammalian cochlear nuclear complex (22). Neurons of the magnocellular cochlear nucleus (n. magnocellularis), which respond in a phase-locked manner to sinusoidal signals and do not show large increases in spike discharge rate with changes in stimulus intensity (26), have "primarylike" (PSTH) discharge patterns and broad interspike interval histograms. This indicates that magnocellular neurons have irregular firing patterns, with the timing of individual spikes being dependent on the phase of the stimulus waveform. Neurons of the angular cochlear nucleus (n. angularis), which show little or no phase-locking and large increases in spike rate with increasing intensity (26), had almost exclusively "transient chopper" discharge patterns. The interspike interval histograms of these angular units are sharp, indicating that their discharge is very regular. At the onset of the response where the chopper pattern is observed, both discharge regularity and rate-intensity sensitivity are at their maximum levels. Several "onset" units were isolated in the angular cochlear nucleus, but no "pauser" or "buildup" units were seen. Also, all of the units in the angular nucleus had monotonic rate-intensity functions. Thus no neural response patterns typical of mammalian dorsal cochlear nucleus units were observed. The relationship of response pattern type to neural function is discussed in relation to the acoustic cues used by the owl for two-dimensional sound localization. The primarylike, phase-locked discharge of magnocellular units is undoubtedly involved in the analysis of interaural differences in stimulus phase, which the owl uses for horizontal localization. There is strong evidence suggesting that the angular nucleus is involved in processing stimulus intensity information, which is important for determining sound elevation (due to asymmetries in vertical directionality of the owl's external ears). The predominant chopper patterns seen in the angular nucleus suggest that in the owl, this response type is correlated with stimulus intensity processing. Similarities in both anatomy and physiology suggest that the magnocellular nucleus is analogous to the spherical cell or bushy cell population of the anterior division of the mammalian anteroventral cochlear nucleus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Action potential patterns of isolated frog muscle spindle in response to sinusoidal stimulation
Authors: Querfurth H.
Published: December 2017

Signal transfer in the isolated frog muscle spindle is investigated using the linear frequency domain analysis technique. Sinusoidal stretches of different amplitudes (20-120 micron) and frequencies (0.1-120 Hz) were applied at different levels of static prestretch, ranging from resting length (L0) up to L0 + 400 micron, so that the frequency-response characteristics were measured at different operating points within the dynamic range. The neuronal responses were recorded from the first node of the afferent stem fiber with a modified air-gap technique. By this means, subthreshold receptor potentials, prepotentials preceding the impulse, and the propagated action potentials were recorded simultaneously, thus providing a detailed insight into the encoding process. There is a well-defined dynamic range of receptor responses. At L0, the encoding site is depolarized to its firing level and discharges spontaneous stimulus-independent impulses. The upper limit is given by the saturation of the receptor potential, which keeps the depolarization maximum below the level of sodium inactivation. Therefore a "depolarization block" or "overstretch" does not exist in the muscle spindle; i.e., the receptor retains its ability to encode information over a large range of dynamic and static displacements. Since the dynamic curves of the receptor potential are not symmetrical about their static operating point, the impulse pattern remains modulated throughout the dynamic range, even if small sinusoids are superimposed on a large static prestretch. The afferent discharge pattern is mainly regulated by the modulated AC component of the receptor potential. At low stimulus frequencies (less than 1 Hz) the receptor potential modulates almost linearly about the mean membrane voltage, so that the evoked discharge pattern displays a smooth analog signal, which is close to sinusoidal. Increasing the static prestretch increases both the peak response and the modulation depth of the impulse pattern. In the intermediate frequency range (1-10 Hz), the cycle histogram disintegrates into discrete peaks separated by empty bins, because the nonlinear receptor potential elicites firmly phase-locked action potentials during its fast depolarization transient. Raising the prestretch level improves the precision of phase locking and increases the number of spikes elicited per cycle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Determination of afferent fibers mediating oligosynaptic group I input to cat medial gastrocnemius motoneurons
Authors: Powers R. K. , Binder M. D.
Published: December 2017

In the experiments described in the preceding paper electrical stimulation of the quadriceps (QUAD), medial tibial (MTIB), and flexor digitorum and hallucis longus (FDHL) muscle nerves was used to evoke oligosynaptic group I postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) in medial gastrocnemius (MG) motoneurons. In the present study, we attempted to specify the types of afferent fibers which mediate that oligosynaptic activity (FDHL to MG only). In one series of experiments, isolated single flexor digitorum longus (FDL) and flexor hallucis longus (FHL) afferents were identified as Ia, Ib, or group II fibers according to their conduction velocities, responses to muscle contraction, and mechanical thresholds to small amplitude triangular stretches applied to the parent muscles. We also determined the electrical thresholds of the identified afferent fibers by applying graded electrical stimulation to their muscle nerve. These results were used as criteria to define the types of afferents that mediated the electrically and stretch-evoked FDHL oligosynaptic PSPs recorded in MG motoneurons during a second series of experiments. The amplitudes of the oligosynaptic PSPs evoked in MG motoneurons increased as the strength of the electrical stimuli applied to the FDHL muscle nerves was raised to activate greater numbers of Ia- and Ib-fibers, but showed little or no additional increase when the stimulus intensity was raised further to include the majority of group II fibers. On this basis, a significant contribution by group II fibers to these oligosynaptic PSPs was considered unlikely. Simultaneous electrical activation of both Ia- and Ib-fibers produced distinct oligosynaptic PSPs in MG motoneurons, but these were likely due primarily to Ib-afferent activity, since selective activation of Ia-afferents (by stretch) rarely produced oligosynaptic PSPs in the same motoneurons. There was, however, evidence for some Ia contribution to these oligosynaptic PSPs. This is consistent with the demonstration that Ia- and Ib-afferent fibers converge onto common interneurons and that selective activation of Ia-fibers can produce PSPs similar to those evoked by concurrent stimulation of Ia- and Ib-fibers. On the basis of the present results and those of several related studies it is argued that the oligosynaptic PSPs evoked in MG motoneurons by submaximal group I stimulation of the FDHL, MTIB, or QUAD muscle nerves can be ascribed predominantly to the activation of Ib-afferent fibers, with only minimal Ia and probably no group II contribution.
Potassium and calcium concentrations in interstitial fluid of hippocampal formation during paroxysmal responses
Authors: Somjen G. G. , Giacchino J. L.
Published: December 2017

The concentration of potassium ([K+]o) and of calcium ([Ca2+]o) in interstitial fluid of the hippocampal formation of rats anesthetized with urethan was recorded with double-barreled ion-selective microelectrodes. The ipsilateral angular bundle was stimulated with trains of repetitive pulses. [K+]o increased during angular bundle stimulation in both dendritic and cell body layers of the fascia dentata. When stimulation was frequent and intense enough to provoke intercurrent paroxysmal discharge (IPaD), [K+]o in the granule cell body layer rose much above the level it attained during previous, nonparoxysmal activation. No similar excess increase of [K+]o related to paroxysmal firing was observed in the dendritic layer. It is concluded that tonic paroxysmal discharge of the granule cells is associated with an outflow of K ions from the cell somata, but not the dendrites. Extracellular sustained potential (SP) shifts and responses of [K+]o associated with paroxysmal firing showed no consistent correlation in fascia dentata. It is concluded that paroxysmal SP shifts in fascia dentata (unlike in spinal cord and cerebral neocortex) are dominated by the extracellular currents generated by granule cells, not by neuroglia. In the postparoxysmal phase, however, a small residual SP shift was observed in both soma and dendrite layers, which had characteristics compatible with its being generated by glial cells. Responses of [Ca2+]o varied from rat to rat. During nonparoxysmal excitation [Ca2+]o increased, decreased, or remained unchanged. During paroxysmal firing [Ca2+]o always decreased in the granule cell body layer, but the magnitude of the response varied greatly. In the dendritic layer a similar but smaller decrease was observed in some but not all cases. Probable reasons for the unpredictability of the responses of [Ca2+]o are discussed. The responses of [Ca2+]o recorded in fascia dentata of urethan-anesthetized rats that have previously been kindled were not detectably different from those of control animals. Leao's spreading depression (LD) was associated with large increase of [K+]o, decrease of [Ca2+ )o, and intense negative SP shift in both dendritic and cell body layers of fascia dentata, as well as in CA1 zone of hippocampus. It is concluded that LD in hippocampal formation is associated with more widespread depolarization of pyramidal and granule cells than in cerebral neocortex and cerebellar cortex where changes of [K+]o are limited to the more superficial layers.
Adaptive response to ocular muscle weakness in human pursuit and saccadic eye movements
Authors: Optican L. M. , Zee D. S. , Chu F. C.
Published: December 2017

Eye movement deficits caused by ocular muscle weakness vary according to the position of the eye in the orbit and the direction of eye movement. We studied the ability of both the saccadic and pursuit eye-movement systems to compensate for these anisotropic deficits in four patients with ocular muscle weakness. The eye-position dependence of each patient's motor deficit was characterized by plotting the position of the weak eye against that of the normal eye (in various orbital positions) when fusion was prevented, thus giving a static eye-position curve from which relative muscle strength could be inferred. Movements of the weak eye were smaller and slower than those made by the normal eye, so that the weak eye required more time to acquire a visual target. When patients were forced to view monocularly with their weak eye for several days, both the saccadic and pursuit systems showed changes in the movements of the normal eye consistent with an increased central innervation designed to decrease the time it takes to bring the target's image onto the fovea of the weak eye and to keep it there. These adaptive changes varied with eye position and movement direction and compensated for the weak muscle in both its agonistic and antagonistic actions. Saccadic adaptation consisted of a change in the relationship between saccadic amplitude and retinal error (distance between the target's image and the fovea) to compensate for hypometria (undershoot) and a readjustment of the ratio of the phasic (pulse) and tonic (step) components of the saccadic innervation to suppress postsaccadic ocular drift. Pursuit adaptation consisted of an increase in the relationship between eye acceleration and the rate of motion of the image of the target on the retina during the initial phase of tracking as well as an increase in the velocity during tracking of a target moving at a constant velocity. These changes reflect an increase in pursuit innervation that would cause the weak eye's velocity to approach target velocity sooner. The average acceleration of the normal eye during the initial period of tracking (130 ms) increased by as much as threefold. The corresponding maximum smooth eye velocity increased so that, for example, the pursuit response to a 15 degree/s target movement could be over 50 degree/s in the normal eye.
Body position with respect to the head or body position in space is coded by lumbar interneurons
Authors: Suzuki I. , Timerick S. J. , Wilson V. J.
Published: December 2017

In decerebrate cats, we have studied the response of neurons in the L3-L6 segments of the spinal cord to stimulation of neck and vestibular receptors. Neck receptors were stimulated by head rotation in labyrinthectomized cats or by body rotation with the head fixed in labyrinth-intact cats. Vestibular receptors were stimulated by whole-body tilt in the latter preparation. Most neurons were located outside the motoneuron nuclei and were arbitrarily classified as interneurons. Combinations of roll and pitch stimuli at frequencies of 0.1 or 0.05 Hz were used to determine the horizontal component of the polarization vector, i.e., the best direction of tilt, for each neuron. Two types of stimuli were used; rotation of a fixed angle of tilt around the head or body ("wobble," Ref. 22) or sinusoidal stimuli in several planes. Polarization vectors of the responses to neck stimulation were widely distributed; different neurons responded best to roll, pitch, and angles in between. For every neuron, the amplitude of the response decreased as the cosine of the angle between the direction of maximal sensitivity and the plane of the stimulus. The direction of the vector remained stable as the frequency of stimulation was varied. Neurons with different vectors had similar dynamics that resembled those of cervical interneurons (27). Many neurons responded to both neck and vestibular stimulation, although the vestibular response usually had a much lower gain. Neck and vestibular vectors were approximately opposite in direction. We suggest that neck responses originate in receptors, probably spindles, in perivertebral muscles. Each of these muscles presumably is best stretched by a particular direction of pull. It seems likely that convergence from receptors in selected muscles determines the direction of a spinal neuron's vector. Vestibular responses probably are due mainly to activity in otolith afferents.
Comparison of response properties of cells in the cat's visual cortex at high and low luminance levels
Authors: Ramoa A. S. , Freeman R. D. , Macy A.
Published: December 2017

Receptive-field organization of cells in the cat's striate cortex and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) was investigated by using bars of light as stimuli. The aim was to determine if differences occur between conditions of high and low luminance levels. Of 72 cortical cells studied, the receptive fields of 63 were clearly different at high compared with low luminances. Units that gave on-off responses to flashed bars, for example, typically displayed on-only responses at low luminance. By far the most frequent change was that off responses were reduced or absent at low luminance levels. Of 63 cells that showed clear changes, 54 were of this type. This altered receptive-field organization appears to remain for extended periods (we have monitored the steady-state case for up to 2 h). Additional tests allow us to rule out the possible influence of overall changes in response strength and scattered light. To see if similar changes in receptive-field organization are present at the level of the LGN, we recorded from a small number of cells in the LGN (n = 10) and from an additional five afferent fibers in the cortex. In each case, there was a change in center-surround organization between high and low luminance levels similar to that previously reported for retinal ganglion cells. The excitatory responses from the surround for both on-center and off-center cells were absent at low luminance. Taken together, the results suggest that surround responses that can be elicited from ganglion cells and LGN cells make an important contribution to the receptive-field organization of cortical neurons. Changes in receptive-field organization of cortical cells are apparently not accompanied by alterations of other basic response properties. Orientation (7 cells) and spatial frequency (53 cells) selectivity remain relatively unchanged when measured at different luminances. Although optimal spatial frequency is slightly lower at low luminance levels, the low spatial frequency attenuation remains unaltered. Since receptive-field changes between high and low luminance levels suggest that a unit's classification may also vary, we examined simple and complex cell characteristics using sinusoidal gratings (65 cells). Contrary to what we had anticipated, the degree of modulation of responses was relatively independent of luminance, indicating that cell classification does not vary with stimulus luminance.
Topographic organization of interaural intensity difference sensitivity in deep layers of cat superior colliculus: implications for auditory spatial representation
Authors: Wise L. Z. , Irvine D. R.
Published: December 2017

Sensitivity to interaural intensity difference (IID) was examined for 103 neurons in the deep layers of superior colliculus (SC) in ketamine barbiturate-anesthetized cats. Noise stimuli were presented dichotically, and IID sensitivity functions were generated while keeping the average binaural intensity (ABI) of stimulation constant. Neurons of three binaural classes were found to be IID sensitive. Neurons receiving excitatory contralateral input and inhibitory ipsilateral input (EO/I cells, 55% of sample) had steplike IID functions, with maximum response at IIDs corresponding to contralateral azimuths (positive IIDs), total suppression at IIDs corresponding to ipsilateral azimuths (negative IIDs), and cutoffs at different positions along the IID axis for different neurons. Neurons responsive only to binaural stimulation (OO/F cells, 15% of sample) had IID functions with a sharp peak in the range of 0 to 10 dB IID. Cells receiving excitatory input contralaterally and a facilitatory ipsilateral input (EO/F cells, 7% of sample) had IID functions of intermediate shape, with a peak in the range of 10 to 20 dB IID and a sharper cutoff near zero IID than at larger positive IIDs. The sharpness of IID cutoff for EO/I cells was quantified by measuring an 80% IID dynamic range. Neurons with 80% IID dynamic ranges of less than 26 dB were judged to have sharp cutoffs. The position along the IID axis of the IID cutoff for these cells was quantified by recording the IID at which the response was at 50% of maximum (half-maximal IID). A topographic organization of EO/I cells with sharp IID cutoffs was found along the rostrocaudal axis of SC, such that rostral EO/I cells had IID functions with half-maximal IIDs near zero, while increasingly caudal EO/I cells had progressively larger (positive) half-maximal IIDs. Although detailed maps could not be obtained in individual animals, the topography was observed in each of nine experiments in which EO/I cells were located in two or more rostrocaudal locations (P = 0.00002). The effect of stimulus level on the stability of IID cutoff was examined for 13 EO/I cells. The majority (85%) showed less than 10 dB variation in half-maximal IID across a range of suprathreshold ABIs, indicating that EO/I cells in SC generally exhibit stability in cutoff with changes in intensity of broadband stimuli.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Activation of dorsal horn cells by ventral root stimulation in the cat
Authors: Chung J. M. , Lee K. H. , Kim J. , Coggeshall R. E.
Published: December 2017

Responses of dorsal horn cells to ventral root stimulation were determined for the L7 and S1 levels of the spinal cord of 14 anesthetized cats. Forty-six dorsal horn cells were found that were excited by stimulation of the distal stump of the cut ventral root. For maximum excitation it was necessary to use a train of stimuli. For the 34 dorsal horn cells whose peripheral receptive-field properties could be characterized, 14 were wide dynamic range cells and 19 were high-threshold cells. The other cell responded exclusively to stimulation of deep tissue. None of the cells responded exclusively to innocuous stimuli, and all responded more vigorously to noxious than to innocuous stimuli. Some cells also responded to noxious heat applied to the skin of the receptive field. Locations of 10 of the activated dorsal horn cells were identified. They were distributed throughout the dorsal horn, but most were found in laminae V and VI. In four animals, both the proximal and distal stumps of the cut S1 ventral root were stimulated while searching for dorsal horn cells. Ten dorsal horn cells were found that were excited by stimulation of the distal stump of the ventral root. No cells were found that responded to proximal stump stimulation. To prevent current spread by stimulation of the ventral root, an extra ground electrode was placed distal to the stimulating electrodes. When the ground electrode was removed, distinctive signs of current spread appeared in that a cord dorsum potential could be recorded and the dorsal horn neuronal responses changed. Dorsal horn neurons could also be excited by nonelectrical stimuli such as crushing the ventral root. If the ventral root was crushed distal to the stimulating electrodes, however, the initially excited cell could no longer be activated by ventral root stimulation. Activation of dorsal horn cells by stimulation of the distal stump of a cut ventral root was abolished when the dorsal root of the same segment was sectioned. Conduction velocities of the fibers in the ventral root that excited dorsal horn cells ranged between 0.25 and 1.78 m/s with a mean of 0.91 +/- 0.47 (SD) m/s. These results show that there are unmyelinated afferent fibers in the ventral root that enter the spinal cord through the dorsal root and excite dorsal horn cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Comparative electrophysiology of pyramidal and sparsely spiny stellate neurons of the neocortex
Authors: McCormick D. A. , Connors B. W. , Lighthall J. W. , Prince D. A.
Published: December 2017

Slices of sensorimotor and anterior cingulate cortex from guinea pigs were maintained in vitro and bathed in a normal physiological medium. Electrophysiological properties of neurons were assessed with intracellular recording techniques. Some neurons were identified morphologically by intracellular injection of the fluorescent dye Lucifer yellow CH. Three distinct neuronal classes of electrophysiological behavior were observed; these were termed regular spiking, bursting, and fast spiking. The physiological properties of neurons from sensorimotor and anterior cingulate areas did not differ significantly. Regular-spiking cells were characterized by action potentials with a mean duration of 0.80 ms at one-half amplitude, a ratio of maximum rate of spike rise to maximum rate of fall of 4.12, and a prominent afterhyperpolarization following a train of spikes. The primary slope of initial spike frequency versus injected current intensity was 241 Hz/nA. During prolonged suprathreshold current pulses the frequency of firing adapted strongly. When local synaptic pathways were activated, all cells were transiently excited and then strongly inhibited. Bursting cells were distinguished by their ability to generate endogenous, all-or-none bursts of three to five action potentials. Their properties were otherwise very similar to regular-spiking cells. The ability to generate a burst was eliminated when the membrane was depolarized to near the firing threshold with tonic current. By contrast, hyperpolarization of regular-spiking (i.e., nonbursting) cells did not uncover latent bursting tendencies. The action potentials of fast-spiking cells were much briefer (mean of 0.32 ms) than those of the other cell types.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The vestibuloocular reflex of the adult flatfish. II. Vestibulooculomotor connectivity
Authors: Graf W. , Baker R.
Published: December 2017

The peripheral and central oculomotor organization of the adult flatfish presents no morphological substrates that suffice to explain adaptive changes in its vestibuloocular reflex system. The necessity for an adaptation occurs because of a 90 degrees displacement of the vestibular with respect to the extraocular coordinate axes during metamorphosis. Since a reorganization of vestibuloocular pathways must be hypothesized (12), the location and termination of electrophysiologically identified secondary vestibular neurons with focus on the horizontal canal system was studied with the intracellular horseradish peroxidase method in adult winter flounders. Pseudopleuronectes americanus. The oculomotor target sites of vertical canal related neurons were similar to those described in mammals. Presumed excitatory anterior canal neurons bifurcated after the main axon had crossed the midline. The descending branch headed toward the spinal cord. The ascending branch reached the oculomotor nucleus via the contralateral medial longitudinal fasciculus and terminated in the superior rectus and inferior oblique subdivisions. Presumed inhibitory posterior canal neurons ascended ipsilaterally in the medial longitudinal fasciculus and terminated mainly in the superior rectus and inferior oblique subdivisions. Horizontal canal neurons exhibited characteristics distinctly different from mammalian ones. Two types of second-order neurons were observed. In the first case, cell bodies were located in the anterior portion of the vestibular nuclear complex. After crossing the midline, the axon ascended in the contralateral medial longitudinal fasciculus. Major termination sites were found in the inferior oblique and superior rectus subdivisions of the oculomotor nucleus. Axonal branches then recrossed the midline and terminated in identical locations on the ipsilateral side. In the second case, cell bodies were located in the descending vestibular nucleus. Their axons crossed the midline and also ascended in the contralateral medial longitudinal fasciculus. Major termination sites were in the trochlear nucleus and in the inferior rectus subdivision of the oculomotor nucleus. As in the first case, axonal branches also recrossed the midline and terminated in identical motoneuron pools on the ipsilateral side. The above target sites were exactly those expected to be used in a reciprocal excitatory-inhibitory fashion during compensatory eye movements. Head-down movement would be excitatory for the lower horizontal canal producing contractions of both superior recti and inferior obliques as well as relaxation of the antagonistic inferior recti and superior obliques.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Visually induced adaptive changes in primate saccadic oculomotor control signals
Authors: Optican L. M. , Miles F. A.
Published: December 2017

Saccades are the rapid eye movements used to change visual fixation. Normal saccades end abruptly with very little postsaccadic ocular drift, but acute ocular motor deficits can cause the eyes to drift appreciably after a saccade. Previous studies in both patients and monkeys with peripheral ocular motor deficits have demonstrated that the brain can suppress such postsaccadic drifts. Ocular drift might be suppressed in response to visual and/or proprioceptive feedback of position and/or velocity errors. This study attempts to characterize the adaptive mechanism for suppression of postsaccadic drift. The responses of seven rhesus monkeys were studied to postsaccadic retinal slip induced by horizontal exponential movements of a full-field stimulus. After several hours of saccade-related retinal image slip, the eye movements of the monkeys developed a zero-latency, compensatory postsaccadic ocular drift. This ocular drift was still evident in the dark, although smaller (typically 15% of the amplitude of the antecedent saccade, up to a maximum drift of 8 degrees). Retinal slip alone, without a net displacement of the image, was sufficient to elicit these adaptive changes, and compensation for leftward and rightward saccades was independent. It took several days to complete adaptation, but recovery (in the light) was much quicker. The decay of this adaptation in darkness was very slow; after 3 days the ocular drift was reduced by less than 50%. The time constants of single exponential curve fits to adaptation time courses of data from five animals were 35 h for acquisition, 4 h for recovery, and at least 40 h for decay in darkness. Descriptions of the central innervation for a saccade are usually simplified to only two components: a pulse and a step. It has been hypothesized that suppression of pathological postsaccadic drift is achieved by adjusting the ratio of the pulse to the step of innervation (19, 26). However, we show that the time constant of the ocular drift is influenced by the time constant of the adapting stimulus, which cannot be explained by the simple pulse-step model of saccadic innervation. A more realistic representation of the saccadic innervation has three components: a pulse, an exponential slide, and a step. Normal saccades were accurately simulated by a fourth-order, linear model of the ocular motor plant driven by such a pulse-slide-step combination. Saccades made after prolonged exposure to optically induced retinal image slip could also be simulated by properly adjusting the slide and step components.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Central compensation of vestibular deficits. III. Response characteristics of lateral vestibular neurons to roll tilt after contralateral labyrinth deafferentation
Authors: Lacour M. , Manzoni D. , Pompeiano O. , Xerri C.
Published: December 2017

The responses of lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) neurons to stimulation of macular labyrinth receptors have been investigated in precollicular decerebrate cats after contralateral acute vestibular neurectomy (aVN). On the whole, 78 LVN neurons were tested during slow sinusoidal tilt of the animal at the standard parameters (0.026 Hz, 10 degrees peak displacement). The neurons were located in both the rostroventral (rvLVN) and the dorsocaudal parts (dcLVN) of Deiters' nucleus, which project mainly to the cervical and the lumbosacral cord, respectively. After contralateral aVN, the proportions of responsive units in rvLVN and dcLVN (100% and 75.4%, respectively) were similar to those obtained in control experiments with intact labyrinths. However, the mean discharge rate of the responsive units slightly decreased with respect to the value obtained in control experiments, the decrease being more prominent within the rvLVN. The average sensitivity (and to a lesser extent the gain) of responses of rvLVN neurons to the labyrinth input was almost twice that of the dcLVN units in preparations with the vestibular nerves intact; these regional differences disappeared after contralateral aVN, particularly due to a decrease in gain and sensitivity of responses in the rvLVN. The proportion of LVN neurons that were maximally excited by animal position increased from 74.0% in the control experiments to 82.8%. However, while in control experiments the proportion of units excited during side-down tilt was twice as high as that of the units excited by side-up tilt, the opposite occurred after contralateral aVN; this finding affected particularly the dcLVN. In addition the average phase lead of responses relative to the extreme animal displacements slightly decreased from +12.3 degrees in control experiments to +9.4 degrees. Among the LVN neurons recorded after contralateral aVN, 35 were antidromically activated by stimulating the spinal cord at T12 L1, while 43 units were not activated. The relation found in control experiments, i.e., that the faster the conduction velocity of vestibulospinal axon the lower was the unit discharge at rest, was lost after contralateral aVN, due to a decrease in resting discharge rate of the slow neurons. This finding, coupled with the observation that slow and fast units did not show any difference in their response gain to tilt, explains why the positive correlation between axonal conduction velocity and response sensitivity occurring in control experiments was lost after contralateral aVN.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Neurotransmitter inputs to directionally sensitive turtle retinal ganglion cells
Authors: Ariel M. , Adolph A. R.
Published: December 2017

Synaptic drugs were superfused into turtle eyecup preparation while recording extracellularly from directionally sensitive (DS) retinal ganglion cells. As in previous experiments in intact rabbit retina, both picrotoxin (a GABA antagonist) and physostigmine [an acetylcholine (ACh) potentiator] reduced or eliminated the directional selectivity of these cells. These drug effects occurred at micromolar concentrations and were long lasting. Superfusion of ACh caused excitation, and GABA caused inhibition of the spike activity of these DS cells. In some experiments, the ganglion cell was isolated from its presynaptic inputs by perfusing with a low-Ca2+/EGTA perfusate, which blocked synaptic transmission but did not suppress spike firing. During this synaptic block, ACh still caused spontaneous spike firing, and GABA was able to suppress the ACh-induced spike activity. Strychnine slightly increased the spontaneous activity of DS ganglion cells and reduced their response to light. Glycine and taurine were equally effective in totally suppressing spike activity, and strychnine blocked this inhibition by both agents. However, these inhibitory effects may be transynaptic because glycine did not suppress ACh-induced excitation during synaptic block. Superfusion of micromolar concentrations of methionine enkephalin and [D-Ala2]methionine enkephalinamide occasionally caused small increases in the light responses of DS cells, whereas naloxone, a broad-spectrum opiate antagonist, moderately decreased light responsiveness. Because naloxone had no effect on these cell's directional tuning, the opiate system is probably not involved in the mechanism of directional sensitivity. Based on the effects of these transmitter candidates and their antagonists, a possible site fo DS subunits may be the ACh and GABA receptors on the membrane of DS ganglion cells. ACh provides light-evoked excitation that may, when potentiated by physostigmine, overcome asymmetric GABA inhibition. Although the role of glycine in directional sensitivity is small, it may be responsible for regulating presynaptic excitatory pathways leading to the DS ganglion cells.
Abnormal neuronal excitability in hippocampal slices from kindled rats
Authors: King G. L. , Dingledine R. , Giacchino J. L. , McNamara J. O.
Published: December 2017

To determine if electrophysiological properties of hippocampal pathways are altered in kindled rats, extracellular recordings were made from hippocampal slices of rats kindled in the lateral entorhinal cortex and compared with those from implanted but unstimulated controls. Studies were made either 24 h or 28 days after the last kindled seizure and done in normal (3.5 mM) or elevated (7 mM) K+. The preparation of slices, data accumulation, and data analyses were done blind. One day or 28 days after the last kindled seizure, the proportion of slices with spontaneous epileptiform bursts recorded from the CA2/3 region in elevated K+ was significantly (P less than 0.001) increased in the kindled animals. The frequency of spontaneous burst firing was also increased and reached significance (P less than 0.02) at 28 days following the last kindling stimulus. One day after the last kindling stimulus, paired-pulse (GABAergic) inhibition in the CA1 region was decreased (P less than 0.001). Several measures suggested an increased synaptic inhibition in the dentate gyrus of slices from the kindled groups 1 day after kindling. Paired-pulse inhibition was increased (P less than 0.01), the current required to evoke a near-threshold population spike was increased (P less than 0.05), and the population spike amplitude was reduced for a given field excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) (P less than 0.01). Twenty-eight days after the last kindling stimulus, however, paired-pulse inhibition in the dentate was slightly less in slices from kindled rats (P less than 0.005). In other respects the CA1 and dentate regions did not differ between kindled and control groups within 24 h of the last stage V seizure. Thus the maximum amplitudes of presynaptic fiber volley, population spike, and field-excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) slope, and the number of population spikes evoked by a near-maximally effective afferent stimulus, were unchanged. In the CA1 region the input-output curve of field EPSP versus population spike, and the current intensity required to evoke a near-threshold population spike were also unchanged. In addition, no spontaneous bursts were recorded from CA1 in 3.5 mM K+. We conclude that either synapses or neurons intrinsic to the hippocampus are altered by kindling stimuli applied outside this brain area. The transient increase in inhibition in the dentate gyrus suggests that it may reflect a compensatory reaction to kindled seizures. In contrast, the long-lasting (at least 28 days) increase in burst firing in CA2/3 may represent a mechanism for the initiation or propagation of kindled seizures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)