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Showing papers in "Journal of Neurophysiology in 1983"


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The presence of both direction and speed selectivity in MT of the macaque suggests that this area is more specialized for the analysis of visual motion than has been previously recognized.
Abstract: 1. Recordings were made from single units in the middle temporal visual area (MT) of anesthetized, paralyzed macaque monkeys. A computer-driven stimulator was used to make quantitative tests of sel...

1,497 citations




Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The presence of a substantial degree of selectivity for fixed disparity in MT, together with previously demonstrated selectivities for direction and speed, indicates that MT is well suited for the analysis of motion in three-dimensional space.
Abstract: 1. Electrophysiological recordings were made in the middle temporal visual area (MT) of five macaque monkeys. Binocularity and selectivity for disparity were examined using a computer-driven stimul...

654 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is concluded that during a 60-s sustained maximal voluntary contraction there is a progressive slowing of contraction speed such that the excitation rate required to give maximal force generation is reduced, the simultaneous decline in EMG may be due to a continuous reduction in motoneuron discharge rate, and the EMG decline may not necessarily contribute to force loss.
Abstract: Measurements were made from the human adductor pollicis muscle of force, contractile speed, and electromyographic activity (EMG) before, during, and after maximal isometric voluntary contractions sustained for 60 s. The use of brief test periods of maximal nerve stimulation with single shocks or trains of shocks enabled various muscle mechanical properties to be studied throughout each contraction. Electrical activity was measured after rectification and smoothing of the surface potentials and also by counting the total number of potentials per unit time from a population of motor units using fine wire intramuscular electrodes. During a 60-s maximal voluntary contraction, the force fell by 30-50%. Throughout the experiment the voluntary force matched that produced by supramaximal tetanic nerve stimulation. This indicated that, with sufficient practice, full muscle activation could be maintained by voluntary effort. However, the amplitude of the smoothed, rectifed EMG and the rate of spike counts declined. Since no evidence for neuromuscular block was found, the decline in EMG and spike counts was attributed to a progressive reduction of the neural drive from the central nervous system, despite maintained maximum effort. After the prolonged voluntary contractions twitch duration was prolonged, mainly as a result of slowing in relaxation rate. Twitch summation in unfused tetani increased. Both the maximum rate of relaxation and the time course of force decay declined by 50-70%. Similar changes were seen in both voluntary contractions and in test periods of stimulation. The percentage change in muscle contractile speed measured by these parameters approximately equaled the percentage change in the surface EMG measured simultaneously. It is concluded that 1) during a 60-s sustained maximal voluntary contraction there is a progressive slowing of contraction speed such that the excitation rate required to give maximal force generation is reduced, 2) the simultaneous decline in EMG may be due to a continuous reduction in motoneuron discharge rate, and 3) the EMG decline may not necessarily contribute to force loss.

553 citations



Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: An argument is presented that suggests that, in response to voluntary effort, the range of discharge rates of each motor-unit pool is limited to those only just sufficient to produce maximum force in each motor unit.
Abstract: Single motor

370 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is suggested that the noncollidable neurons represent a subpopulation of pyramidal cells that do not project an axon via the fornix but project, instead, to other limbic cortical regions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED at 400 WORDS)
Abstract: Extracellular single-unit recordings from neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the dorsal hippocampus were monitored during classical conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response. Neurons were classified as different cell types using response to fornix stimulation (i.e., antidromic or orthodromic activation) and spontaneous firing characteristics as criteria. Results showed that hippocampal pyramidal neurons exhibit learning-related neural plasticity that develops gradually over the course of classical conditioning. The learning-dependent pyramidal cell response is characterized by an increase in frequency of firing within conditioning trials and a within-trial pattern of discharge that correlates strongly with amplitude-time course of the behavioral response. In contrast, pyramidal cell activity recorded from control animals given unpaired presentations of the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus (CS and UCS) does not show enhanced discharge rates with repeated stimulation. Previous studies of hippocampal cellular electrophysiology have described what has been termed a theta-cell (19-21, 45), the activity of which correlates with slow-wave theta rhythm generated in the hippocampus. Neurons classified as theta-cells in the present study exhibit responses during conditioning that are distinctly different than pyramidal cells. theta-Cells respond during paired conditioning trials with a rhythmic bursting; the between-burst interval occurs at or near 8 Hz. In addition, two different types of theta-cells were distinguishable. One type of theta-cell increases firing frequency above pretrial levels while displaying the theta bursting pattern. The other type decreases firing frequency below pretrial rates while showing a theta-locked discharge. In addition to pyramidal and theta-neurons, several other cell types recorded in or near the pyramidal cell layer could be distinguished. One cell type was distinctive in that it could be activated with a short, invariant latency following fornix stimulation, but spontaneous action potentials of such neurons could not be collided with fornix shock-induced action potentials. These neurons exhibit a different profile of spontaneous firing characteristics than those of antidromically identified pyramidal cells. Nevertheless, neurons in this noncollidable category display the same learning-dependent response as pyramidal cells. It is suggested that the noncollidable neurons represent a subpopulation of pyramidal cells that do not project an axon via the fornix but project, instead, to other limbic cortical regions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

352 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The view that short-latency afferent tactile projections to both the GC and PC layers of cerebellar cortex are highly organized spatially is supported, indicating that there is a vertical organization in GC-PC excitatory relations, while GC-induced PC inhibition is slightly more widely distributed.
Abstract: 1. We compared the spatial pattern of shortest latency somatosensory (tactile) projections to the Purkinje cell (PC) layer and to the underlying granule cell (GC) layer in tactile areas of rat cere...

347 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is concluded that neurons with small receptive fields possess the ability to provide information about the localization, the intensity, and the temporal attributes of a noxious stimulus.
Abstract: Recordings were made from single SI cortical neurons in the anesthetized macaque monkey. Each isolated cortical neuron was tested for responses to a standard series of mechanical stimuli. The stimuli included brushing the skin, pressure, and pinch. The majority of cortical neurons responded with the greatest discharge frequency to brushing the receptive field, but neurons were found in areas 3b and 1 that responded maximally to pinching the receptive field. A total of 68 cortical nociceptive neurons were examined in 10 animals. Cortical neurons that responded maximally to pinching the skin were also tested for responses to graded noxious heat pulses (from 35 to 43, 45, 47, and 50 degrees C). If the neuron failed to respond or only responded to 50 degrees C, the receptive field was also heated to temperatures of 53 and 55 degrees C. Fifty-six of the total population of nociceptive neurons were tested for responses to the complete series of noxious heat pulses: 46 (80%) exhibited a progressive increase in the discharge frequency as a function of stimulus intensity, and the spontaneous activity of two (4%) was inhibited. One population of cortical nociceptive neurons possessed restricted, contralateral receptive fields. These cells encoded the intensity of noxious mechanical and thermal stimulation. Sensitization of primary afferent nociceptors was reflected in the responses of SI cortical nociceptive neurons when the ascending series of noxious thermal stimulation was repeated. The population of cortical nociceptive neurons with restricted receptive fields exhibited no adaptation in the response during noxious heat pulses of 47 and 50 degrees C. At higher temperatures the response often continued to increase during the stimulus. The other population of cortical nociceptive neurons was found to have restricted, low-threshold receptive fields on the contralateral hindlimb and, in addition, could be activated only by intense pinching or noxious thermal stimuli delivered on any portion of the body. The stimulus-response functions obtained from noxious thermal stimulation of the contralateral hindlimb were not different from cortical nociceptive neurons with small receptive fields. However, nociceptive neurons with large receptive fields exhibited a consistent adaptation during a noxious heat pulse of 47 and 50 degrees C. Based on the response characteristics of these two populations of cortical nociceptive neurons, we conclude that neurons with small receptive fields possess the ability to provide information about the localization, the intensity, and the temporal attributes of a noxious stimulus.4+.

336 citations



Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Monkeys were trained to look to brief visual targets presented in a completely darkened room and the eye movement that compensated for the change in eye position produced by stimulation was a saccade, not a passive, lowvelocity movement to an orbital position of mechanical equilibrium established by a tonic pattern of motoneuron activation specified by the visual target.
Abstract: 1. Monkeys were trained to look to brief visual targets presented in a completely darkened room. On some trials, after the visual target disappeared but before a saccade to the target could be initiated, the eyes were driven to another position in the orbit by electrical stimulation of the superior colliculus. Retinocentric models of the saccadic system predict that a saccade with a predetermined distance and direction based entirely on retinal error will occur. If this were the case, gaze would miss the target location by a distance and direction equal to the vector of the stimulation-induced movement. Spatial models assume that the retinal error signal will be combined with information about the change in eye position produced by stimulation and predict that the animal will look to the position of the target in space. 2. Results confirm the predictions of spatial models. Animals compensated for the stimulation-induced perturbation by looking to the position of the target in space. The result predicted by retinocentric models-a saccade with a direction and amplitude based on retinal error alone-was never observed. 3. The eye movement that compensated for the change in eye position produced by stimulation was a saccade, not a passive, lowvelocity movement to an orbital position of mechanical equilibrium established by a tonic pattern of motoneuron activation specified by the visual target. This indicates that a new saccade command, based on stored information about the location of the retinal image and information about the new position of the eyes, had been issued. Computation of the vector of the compensatory saccade does not necessarily increase the latency of target acquisition. The interval between the end of a stimulation-induced saccade and the beginning of the compensatory saccade was frequently 20 ms or less, permitting the animal to acquire the target with a normal latency.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The results indicate that neuronal activity produces changes in many of the constituents of the microenvironment, and suggest that carbonic anhydrase (CA) is important for acute buffering of the brain extracellular microenvironment.
Abstract: 1. Extracellular pH (pHo) was measured in the cerebellar cortex of the rat using a recently developed liquid membrane ion-selective micropipette (ISM). pHo was determined during stimulus-evoked neuronal activity, elevated extracellular potassium concentration, [K+]o, spreading depression (SD), and complete ischemia. In many experiments [K+]o was simultaneously determined. 2. A train of local surface stimuli (LOC) produced an initial alkaline shift in pHo from a base line of 7.20-7.30 to 7.25-7.35. This was followed by a long-lasting acid phase that reached a plateau of 7.05-7.15 after 64 s of stimulation. pHo decrease was related to stimulus frequency, intensity, and duration. 3. Superfusion with Ringer solution containing manganese ions rapidly abolished parallel fiber-induced Purkinje cell synaptic depolarization together with the alkaline shifts while enhancing the acid shifts. 4. Superfusion of the cerebellar cortex with Ringer solution containing increasingly elevated [K+] progressively lowered pHo to a plateau of 6.95-7.05. The acidification occurred in the presence of ouabain but was reversed on return to the normal [K+]o or with the addition of the glycolytic blocker, fluoride. Stimulus-evoked alkaline shifts were enhanced by K+-Ringer superfusion. These experiments suggested that the acid shift was due to the metabolic production of an anion, possibly lactate. 5. Elevation of [K+]o above 8-12 mM often produced oscillation in pHo and [K+]o with a period of about 40 s. Sometimes these oscillations ended in a spontaneous SD or SD could be evoked by stimulation. Under these conditions of raised [K+]o, the SD consisted of a very pronounced alkaline transient followed by a small, long-lasting acid shift. When SD was induced by conditioning the cerebellum with proprionate or lowered NaCl, the alkaline phase was reduced and the acid enhanced. 6. Complete ischemia began with a progressive decrease of pHo and rise in [K+]o. When [K+]o reached 12 mM, a second more rapid rise in [K+]o to 40 mM or more occurred. This was correlated with 0.1-0.2 pHo transient increase similar to that seen during SD. pHo eventually reached a plateau of 6.60-6.80, close to neutrality. 7. Superfusion with Ringer solution containing acetazolamide immediately altered pHo homeostasis by increasing base-line pHo by about 0.10 and enhanced the induced pHo changes. These results suggest that carbonic anhydrase (CA) is important for acute buffering of the brain extracellular microenvironment. 8. The above results were interpreted in terms of changes in extracellular strong ion concentration differences ( [SID]o), extracellular concentration of total weak acid ( [Atot]o) and partial pressure of CO2 (Pco2) in the brain microenvironment. The results indicate that neuronal activity produces changes in many of the constituents of the microenvironment.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The results support the hypothesis that the PAG functions as a visceral, nociceptive, and cognitive integrator, and the wide variety of side effects often encountered in stimulation-produced analgesia in humans.
Abstract: 1. To obtain a comprehensive map of the ascending projection of the midbrain periaqueductal gray, small amounts of [3H]leucine were injected into discrete regions of the periaqueductal gray (PAG) of the monkey. 2. Despite the fact that different regions of the PAG were injected in separate animals, the majority of the PAG's efferent projections to the forebrain remained constant. 3. The diencephalic projection areas include the nucleus reticularis thalami, the nucleus medialis dorsalis, the midline thalamic nuclei, the intralaminar thalamic nuclei, the preoptic area, and the anterior, dorsal, periventricular, ventromedial, periarcurate, lateral, and posterior hypothalamic nuclei. 4. More caudal areas receiving a projection from the PAG include the zona incerta and the mesencephalic reticular formation. 5. The main route for PAG-diencephalic projections is through the periventricular bundle. This implies that if a stimulating electrode was placed in this region, both the diencephalic leads to PAG and PAG leads to diencephalic pathways would be stimulated. This observation may explain the wide variety of side effects often encountered in stimulation-produced analgesia in humans. 6. These results support our hypothesis that the PAG functions as a visceral, nociceptive, and cognitive integrator.



Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is concluded that joint proprioception declines to some degree with normal aging, and a more marked decline is associated with degenerative joint disease.
Abstract: Joint proprioception in the human knee has been studied using two previously described tests. Threshold of detection of slow, constant, passive motion and ability to reproduce angles to which the knee was passively placed were accurately measured. A group of postoperative total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients were examined. All patients also had documented articular disease in the unoperated knee. Results were compared to age-matched controls. In addition, a young control group was studied for comparison to both groups. A significant difference was seen between the young control group and the older control group in both tests performed. Age-matched controls and the postoperative patients demonstrated an even greater difference. There was, however, no difference between the operated and unoperated knee among the TKA patients. It is concluded that joint proprioception declines to some degree with normal aging. A more marked decline is associated with degenerative joint disease. Total joint replacement, however, did not lead to a further decrease in sensation.




Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: These correlations in maintained firing appear to be principally or entirely caused by shared inputs to the ganglion cells from more distal retinal neurons, which appear to have strong, brief, well-defined effects on ganglions, which are observed even in the absence of a visual stimulus.
Abstract: 1. The shared inputs to cat retinal ganglion cells have been investigated by studying correlations in the maintained firing of neighboring ganglion cells. The firing of one cell was recorded from its axon in the optic tract, while that of a neighboring cell was simultaneously recorded with a second electrode in the retina. The recorded cells were of the X- or Y-type and viewed a uniform screen having a luminance of 10 cd/m2. 2. Ganglion cells with overlapping receptive-field centers showed two basic forms of correlated firing: if they had the same center sign (both on-center or both off-center), then they tended to fire at the same time, as shown by a peak in their cross-correlogram; but if they had opposite center signs (an on- and and off-center cell), they tended not to fire at the same time, as shown by a well, or dip, in their cross-correlogram. 3. Both of these tendencies were strongest for cells that were close together and did not appear for cells with nonoverlapping receptive-field centers. The strongest correlations were between neighboring Y-cells, cells with large fields, and the weakest were between X-cells, cells with small fields. In general, the strength of the correlations depended primarily on the area of the overlap between fields. 4. These correlations in maintained firing appear to be principally or entirely caused by shared inputs to the ganglion cells from more distal retinal neurons. The signals from these distal neurons appear to have strong, brief (4-8 ms), well-defined effects on ganglion cells, which are observed even in the absence of a visual stimulus. The inputs responsible for the correlated firing are thus referred to as spontaneously active inputs or simply as active inputs. 5. An analysis of the features in the various types of cross-correlograms supports the following statements about these spontaneously active inputs. a) There are two types of active inputs: inputs excitatory to on-center cells and simultaneously inhibitory to off-center center cells and inputs excitatory to off-center cells and simultaneously inhibitory to on-center cells. b) The active inputs of each type provide excitation to both X- and Y-cells of one center sign and inhibition to both X- and Y-cells of the other center sign. There is no evidence for a special class of more selective inputs providing input only to X-cells or only to Y-cells. c) Active inputs account for the majority (about 80%) of the spikes in the maintained activity of Y-cells but only a small fraction (about 15%) of the spikes in the maintained activity of X-cells. 6. A likely source of the active input signals appears to be spiking amacrine cells with a low rate of spontaneous activity.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is concluded that rapid corrections of a movement involve the production of stereotyped patterns of activity in shoulder and elbow muscles.
Abstract: 1. Arm movements toward a target involving motion at the shoulder and elbow joints and restricted to the sagittal plane were investigated. During some movements, target location changed suddenly, thus requiring an intentional correction of the trajectory by the human subject. 2. The reaction time to correct the trajectory was comparable to the reaction time to initiate the movement. 3. Coordination of arm and shoulder movements in this task was achieved by means of a reduction of the number of degrees of freedom of the movement. Such a simplification of the task took two forms. 4. Angular acceleration at the elbow and shoulder were linearly related to each other in the deceleratory phase of the movement, when the trajectory had to be corrected as well as when no such correction was required. 5. When the correction required an increase or decrease in flexor torque at the shoulder and elbow, electromyographic (EMG) activity in anterior deltoid and biceps increased or decreased simultaneously. When the correction demanded more activity in triceps and deltoid, these muscles were activated sequentially instead. It is concluded that rapid corrections of a movement involve the production of stereotyped patterns of activity in shoulder and elbow muscles.



Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Different models for simple cells and E-on/off cells as regards to the organization of their geniculate inputs are suggested; simple cells may receive inputs from both on-center and off-center geniculates cells, but E- on/ off cells receive inputs only from one or the other of them.
Abstract: The organization of geniculate inputs to a cat's visual cortical cell was studied by a cross-correlation technique. Simultaneous extracellular recordings were made in the lateral geniculate nucleus and in the striate cortex, and neuronal connectivity between a geniculate cell and a striate cell was examined by cross-correlograms of their impulse discharges under photic stimuli. Of 243 pairs of geniculate and striate cells with overlapping receptive fields, 82 showed positive correlations with short (0.9-2.7 ms) delay times. The delays in 65 of the 82 pairs were short enough to infer that the geniculate cell exerted monosynaptic excitatory action on the striate cell. Monosynaptic excitations were found in all types of striate cells. Those in cells with exclusively an on area or an off area (E-on/off cells) or in simple cells originated mostly from X geniculate cells; those in special-complex cells originated exclusively from Y geniculate cells; and those in standard-complex cells arose from both X and Y geniculate cells. The convergence number from geniculate cells to an E-on/off or simple striate cell was estimated as more than 10, since about 1/10 of the discharges from an E-on/off or simple cell in response to a moving stimulus was correlated with discharges from a geniculate cell. A larger convergence number (more than 30) was obtained for complex cells. Convergence from 2 to 5 geniculate cells was actually demonstrated in 17 of the 32 striate cells, each of which was tested in pair with 3-14 geniculate cells. The converging inputs thus observed included both X and Y geniculate cells in one E-on, one simple, and three standard-complex cells. They included both on-center and off-center geniculate cells in one simple, one special-complex, and five standard-complex cells. Under stimulation with a stationary light slit, the center fields but not the surround fields of geniculate cells were found to contribute to the receptive fields of the simple striate cells. However, the surround fields of geniculate cells contributed to the subliminal response areas flanking the central areas of E-on/off cells. The center fields of the geniculate cells also contributed to the central areas of the E-on/off cells. These observations suggest different models for simple cells and E-on/off cells as regards the organization of their geniculate inputs; simple cells may receive inputs from both on-center and off-center geniculate cells, but E-on/off cells receive inputs only from one or the other of them.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The responses of 56 neurons recorded in the lumbosacral spinal cord of halothane-anesthetized rats were studied following the application of mechanical stimuli to the skin on the lateral aspect of the paw or electrical stimulation of the sural nerve to evaluate possible relations between neuronal events and reflex discharges.
Abstract: The responses of 56 neurons recorded in the lumbosacral spinal cord of halothane-anesthetized rats were studied following the application of mechanical stimuli to the skin on the lateral aspect of the paw or electrical stimulation of the sural nerve. Only neurons driven by A- and C-fiber stimulation were considered. The evoked activity in a nerve supplying flexor muscles, the common peroneal nerve, was also recorded to evaluate possible relations between neuronal events and reflex discharges. To quantify the reflex output we also recorded the activity of 12 motoneurons. Four different populations of dorsal horn neurons activated by C-fibers could be distinguished. The neurons were classified on the basis of their responses to mechanical stimuli and of their location in the dorsal horn. Class 1 neurons were driven by nonnoxious stimulation only. Neurons driven by nonnoxious stimuli and noxious stimuli were denoted class 2S (superficial to the location of the maximal A-beta-fiber-evoked field potentials) or class 2D (deep to the same potential). Class 3 neurons were driven by noxious stimuli only. The functional characteristics of these four classes of neurons differed in many respects. The latency for the A-beta-fiber-evoked discharge was, on average, 2 ms longer in class 2S than in class 2D neurons, indicating a polysynaptic A-beta input to the former class of neurons. The C-fiber-evoked neuronal discharge often showed time-locked peaks of activity during the interval 120-170 ms. Such peaks of activity occurred, in general, later in class 2D neurons (mean, 157 ms) than in class 2S (mean, 137 ms) or in class 3 (mean, 140 ms), suggesting that the different classes received C-fiber input via partially different routes. The responses to repeated C-fiber stimulation also differed markedly among the four classes. After 16 single electrical stimulations (100 T (T = threshold strength for activating A-beta-afferents), 1 Hz), the C-fiber-evoked discharge in class 2D neurons was increased by 196%, whereas the corresponding value for those in classes 2S, 3, and 1 was 41, 24, and 38%, respectively. Ten of 14 class 2D neurons showed a simultaneous increase of the A-fiber-evoked discharge, indicating an increased excitability of these neurons after repeated impulses in C-fiber afferents. An early reflex discharge (latency, 6-10 ms) was evoked in the common peroneal nerve by electrical stimulation of the sural nerve.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The mechanoafferent neurons innervating the tail region make strong monosynaptic connections to tail motor neurons in the ipsilateral pedal ganglion, and through these connections this subpopulation of the VC neurons appears to make a substantial contribution to the short-latency tail-withdrawal reflex.
Abstract: Mechanical, chemical, or electrical stimulation of the tail elicits a short-latency (less than 1 s) tail-withdrawal reflex that is graded with the intensity of the stimulus. The tail-withdrawal reflex is not elicited by stimulation of parts of the body outside of the tail region. Mechanoafferent neurons innervating the tail are located in a small subcluster within a large, homogeneous group of medium-size (40-80 micron) cells on the ventrocaudal (VC) surface of each pleural ganglion. The tail sensory neurons within this large VC cluster are activated by tactile pressure or by electrical stimulation of discrete regions of the tail. They adapt slowly to maintained stimulation and sometimes respond to stimulus offset as well. Both mechanical and electrical stimuli produce responses that are graded with the intensity of the stimulus. Cells in the VC cluster appear to be primary mechanoreceptors because they have axons in peripheral nerves (including nerves innervating the tail), they exhibit action potentials lacking prepotentials in response to tactile stimulation, and these action potentials are still produced by cutaneous stimulation when peripheral and central chemical synaptic transmission is blocked. Stimulation of fields all over the body surface evokes synaptically mediated hyperpolarizing responses in individual mechanoafferent neurons that may represent afferent inhibition. Hyperpolarizing responses lasting many seconds can be produced by brief cutaneous stimuli. The mechanoafferent neurons innervating the tail region make strong monosynaptic connections to tail motor neurons in the ipsilateral pedal ganglion, and through these connections this subpopulation of the VC neurons appears to make a substantial contribution to the short-latency tail-withdrawal reflex. In addition, the combined excitatory receptive fields of these mechanoafferents match the excitatory receptive field of the tail-withdrawal reflex. Mechanoafferent neurons in the VC cluster that have receptive fields on other parts of the body (outside the excitatory receptive field of the tail-withdrawal reflex) have not been observed to make monosynaptic connections to the tail motor neurons. The neurons innervating the tail are reliably found in a discrete region within the larger VC cluster. In addition to this gross somatotopic organization, there is evidence of a finer level of somatotopic organization between the position of the excitatory receptive field on the tail and the position of the cell soma in the tail subcluster.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Although the absolute sensitivity to NaCl in N units or to HCl in H units varied more than 10-fold, the relative effects of the four stimuli (response profiles) were generally similar for units of a given type.
Abstract: Hypotheses about the peripheral basis for the sense of taste in mammals have been based to a considerable degree on the determined sensibilities of the nerve fibers in the chorda tympani of the rat to chemical stimulation of the anterior tongue. Yet, whether neuron types exist in this nerve, the nature of the basic mechanisms of taste reception that are tapped by this nerve and the form in which information about stimulus quality and intensity is transmitted to the central nervous system by this nerve are, at present, unresolved issues. These issues are addressed in the present study, which is a detailed analysis of the responses of rat chorda tympani nerve fibers that are sensitive to ionic stimuli; solutions applied to the anterior tongue included a range of concentrations of four chemical compounds (sucrose, sodium chloride, hydrochloric acid, and quinine hydrochloride) that represent widely different taste qualities to man or rat. Of the 44 nerve fibers sampled, 40 were stimulated most by one of the two ionic stimuli at test concentrations reported to be equally effective: 21 fibers were most responsive to 0.1 M NaCl and named N units; 19 fibers were most responsive to 0.01 M HCl and named H units. Although many N and H units responded to both HCl and NaCl, the distribution of NaCl-HCl response ratios was bimodal, indicating there are two varieties of units sensitive to ionic taste stimuli in the rat chorda tympani. Sucrose (0.5 M) affected 4 of the nerve fibers and was the most effective stimulus for 3 of them; 0.02 M quinine affected 13 of the fibers but 10 of these were H units. H units were less "specifically tuned" than N units; they were more likely to respond to several of the chemicals. Although the absolute sensitivity to NaCl in N units or to HCl in H units varied more than 10-fold, the relative effects of the four stimuli (response profiles) were generally similar for units of a given type. Exceptions occurred when H unit responses to NaCl or quinine were suppressed by prolonged effects of preceding HCl stimulation. The similarity in response profiles is reflected in high and significant correlations between responses to each pair of effective stimuli across either H or N units.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: First- and second-order discharge patterns of primary events were rate dependent and not state dependent, and the structure of burst organization suggested a model of generation wherein each burst was caused by a unitary event of varying intensity, perhaps a rebound following a hyperpolarization.
Abstract: The relationship between behavioral state, discharge pattern, and discharge rate was investigated in 26 lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) units recorded in cats in the dark during waking (W), synchr...