scholarly journals Contribution of the Entopeduncular Nucleus and the Globus Pallidus to the Control of Locomotion and Visually Guided Gait Modifications in the Cat

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 5121-5146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Mullié ◽  
Irène Arto ◽  
Nabiha Yahiaoui ◽  
Trevor Drew

Abstract We tested the hypothesis that the entopeduncular (EP) nucleus (feline equivalent of the primate GPi) and the globus pallidus (GPe) contribute to both the planning and execution of locomotion and voluntary gait modifications in the cat. We recorded from 414 cells distributed throughout these two nuclei (referred to together as the pallidum) while cats walked on a treadmill and stepped over an obstacle that advanced towards them. Neuronal activity in many cells in both structures was modulated on a step-by-step basis during unobstructed locomotion and was modified in the step over the obstacle. On a population basis, the most frequently observed change, in both the EP and the GPe, was an increase in activity prior to and/or during the swing phase of the step over the obstacle by the contralateral forelimb, when it was the first limb to pass over the obstacle. Our results support a contribution of the pallidum, in concert with cortical structures, to the control of both the planning and the execution of the gait modifications. We discuss the results in the context of current models of pallidal action on thalamic activity, including the possibility that cells in the EP with increased activity may sculpt thalamo-cortical activity.

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 1223-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuguang Liu ◽  
Edwin Robertson ◽  
R. Christopher Miall

Testing the hypothesis that the lateral cerebellum forms a sensory representation of arm movements, we investigated cortical neuronal activity in two monkeys performing visually guided step-tracking movements with a manipulandum. A virtual target and cursor image were viewed co-planar with the manipulandum. In the normal task, manipulandum and cursor moved in the same direction; in the mirror task, the cursor was left-right reversed. In one monkey, 70- and 200-ms time delays were introduced on cursor movement. Significant task-related activity was recorded in 31 cells in one animal and 142 cells in the second: 10.2% increased activity before arm movements onset, 77.1% during arm movement, and 12.7% after the new position was reached. To test for neural representation of the visual outcome of movement, firing rate modulation was compared in normal and mirror step-tracking. Most task-related neurons (68%) showed no significant directional modulation. Of 70 directionally sensitive cells, almost one-half ( n = 34, 48%) modulated firing with a consistent cursor movement direction, many fewer responding to the manipulandum direction ( n = 9, 13%). For those “cursor-related” cells tested with delayed cursor movement, increased activity onset was time-locked to arm movement and not cursor movement, but activation duration was extended by an amount similar to the applied delay. Hence, activity returned to baseline about when the delayed cursor reached the target. We conclude that many cells in the lateral cerebellar cortex signaled the direction of cursor movement during active step-tracking. Such a predictive representation of the arm movement could be used in the guidance of visuo-motor actions.


2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1791-1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Lavoie ◽  
Trevor Drew

We have examined the contribution of the red nucleus to the control of locomotion in the cat. Neuronal activity was recorded from 157 rubral neurons, including identified rubrospinal neurons, in three cats trained to walk on a treadmill and to step over obstacles attached to the moving belt. Of 72 neurons with a receptive field confined to the contralateral forelimb, 66 were phasically active during unobstructed locomotion. The maximal activity of the majority of neurons (59/66) was centered around the swing phase of locomotion. Slightly more than half of the neurons (36/66) were phasically activity during both swing and stance. In addition, some rubral neurons (14/66) showed multiple periods of phasic activity within the swing phase of the locomotor cycle. Periods of phasic discharge temporally coincident with the swing phase of the ipsilateral limb were observed in 7/66 neurons. During voluntary gait modifications, most forelimb-related neurons (70/72) showed a significant increase in their discharge activity when the contralateral limb was the first to step over the obstacle (lead condition). Maximal activity in nearly all cells (63/70) was observed during the swing phase, and 23/63 rubral neurons exhibited multiple increases of activity during the modified swing phase. A number of cells (18/70) showed multiple periods of increased activity during swing and stance. Many of the neurons (35/63, 56%) showed an increase in activity at the end of the swing phase; this period of activity was temporally coincident with the period of activity in wrist dorsiflexors, such as the extensor digitorum communis. A smaller proportion of neurons with receptive fields restricted to the hindlimbs showed similar characteristics to those observed in the population of forelimb-related neurons. The overall characteristics of these rubral neurons are similar to those that we obtained previously from pyramidal tract neurons recorded from the motor cortex during an identical task. However, in contrast to the results obtained in the rubral neurons, most motor cortical neurons showed only one period of increased activity during the step cycle. We suggest that both structures contribute to the modifications of the pattern of EMG activity that are required to produce the change in limb trajectory needed to step over an obstacle. However, the results suggest an additional role for the red nucleus in regulating intra- and interlimb coordination.


1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 2187-2191 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Mushiake ◽  
N. Fujii ◽  
J. Tanji

1. We studied neuronal activity in the supplementary eye field (SEF) and frontal eye field (FEF) of a monkey during performance of a conditional motor task that required capturing of a target either with a saccadic eye movement (the saccade-only condition) or with an eye-hand reach (the saccade-and-reach condition), according to visual instructions. 2. Among 106 SEF neurons that showed presaccadic activity, more than one-half of them (54%) were active preferentially under the saccade-only condition (n = 12) or under the saccade-and-reach condition (n = 45), while the remaining 49 neurons were equally active in both conditions. 3. By contrast, most (97%) of the 109 neurons in the FEF exhibited approximately equal activity in relation to saccades under the two conditions. 4. The present results suggest the possibility that SEF neurons, at least in part, are involved in signaling whether the motor task is oculomotor or combined eye-arm movements, whereas FEF neurons are mostly related to oculomotor control.


2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 2203-2219 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Shin ◽  
P. L. Carlen

High-frequency stimulation (HFS) is used to treat a variety of neurological diseases, yet its underlying therapeutic action is not fully elucidated. Previously, we reported that HFS-induced elevation in [K+]e or bath perfusion of raised Ke+ depressed rat entopeduncular nucleus (EP) neuronal activity via an enhancement of an ionic conductance leading to marked depolarization. Herein, we show that the hyperpolarization-activated ( Ih) channel mediates the HFS- or K+-induced depression of EP neuronal activity. The perfusion of an Ih channel inhibitor, 50 μM ZD7288 or 2 mM CsCl, increased input resistance by 23.5 ± 7% (ZD7288) or 35 ± 10% (CsCl), hyperpolarized cells by 3.4 ± 1.7 mV (ZD7288) or 2.3 ± 0.9 mV (CsCl), and decreased spontaneous action potential (AP) frequency by 51.5 ± 12.5% (ZD7288) or 80 ± 13.5% (CsCl). The Ih sag was absent with either treatment, suggesting a block of Ih channel activity. Inhibition of the Ih channel prior to HFS or 6 mM K+ perfusion not only prevented the previously observed decrease in AP frequency, but increased neuronal activity. Under voltage-clamp conditions, Ih currents were enhanced in the presence of 6 mM K+. Calcium is also involved in the depression of EP neuronal activity, since its removal during raised Ke+ application prevented this attenuation and blocked the Ih sag. We conclude that the enhancement of Ih channel activity initiates the HFS- and K+-induced depression of EP neuronal activity. This mechanism could underlie the inhibitory effects of HFS used in deep brain stimulation in output basal ganglia nuclei.


2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 1739-1775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Hoshino

We propose two distinct types of norepinephrine (NE)-neuromodulatory systems: an enhanced-excitatory and enhanced-inhibitory (E-E/E-I) system and a depressed-excitatory and enhanced-inhibitory (D-E/E-I) system. In both systems, inhibitory synaptic efficacies are enhanced, but excitatory ones are modified in a contradictory manner: the E-E/E-I system enhances excitatory synaptic efficacies, whereas the D-E/E-I system depresses them. The E-E/E-I and D-E/E-I systems altered the dynamic property of ongoing (background) neuronal activity and greatly influenced the cognitive performance (S/N ratio) of a cortical neural network. The E-E/E-I system effectively enhanced S/N ratio for weaker stimuli with lower doses of NE, whereas the D-E/E-I system enhanced stronger stimuli with higher doses of NE. The neural network effectively responded to weaker stimuli if brief γ-bursts were involved in ongoing neuronal activity that is controlled under the E-E/E-I neuromodulatory system. If the E-E/E-I and the D-E/E-I systems interact within the neural network, depressed neurons whose activity is depressed by NE application have bimodal property. That is, S/N ratio can be enhanced not only for stronger stimuli as its original property but also for weaker stimuli, for which coincidental neuronal firings among enhanced neurons whose activity is enhanced by NE application are essential. We suggest that the recruitment of the depressed neurons for the detection of weaker (subthreshold) stimuli might be advantageous for the brain to cope with a variety of sensory stimuli.


1985 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tanji ◽  
K. Kurata

The present report contrasts neuronal activity in two motor cortical fields after instructions that determine which of two sensory signals will trigger a movement and which will not. The goal of the study was to determine possible differential roles of the two cortical fields in the process of preparing to move in response to one external cue and to ignore another. Single-cell recordings were made from the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the precentral motor area (PCM) of monkeys trained to perform key-press movements in two different modes. In the auditory mode, an instruction signal warned the animal to prepare to start the movement promptly in response to a forthcoming 1,000-Hz tone burst (trigger signal), but to remain motionless if the signal was vibrotactile (nontrigger signal). In the tactile mode, the trigger and nontrigger signals were reversed: a different instruction signal warned the animal to prepare to perform the key-press movement in response to the vibrotactile cue, but to withhold it in response to the 1,000-Hz tone. The instruction signals were auditory tones of 300 Hz for the auditory mode and 100 Hz for the tactile mode. Out of 259 task-related SMA neurons, 128 (49%) responded to instructions. Three types of instruction responses were observed: 1) 95 neurons showed continuous instruction-induced activity changes lasting until the occurrence of the movement-triggering signal, regardless of whether an intervening nontrigger signal occurred. 2) 24 neurons showed increased activity until the occurrence of the nontriggering signal, after which the activity subsided. When there was no nontrigger signal, the activity increased during a period when the nontrigger signal might have been given. 3) Nine neurons responded with a transient, short-latency discharge after the instruction. The responses of SMA neurons to two instructions were often different. Forty-four SMA neurons exhibited a selective response to only one of the two instructions. In 43 neurons the response was differential, with the magnitude of activity increase or decrease being at least three times greater after one instruction than the other. In the remaining 41 neurons the response was nondifferential. Out of 112 task-related PCM neurons, 25 (22%) responded to the instructions. In the majority of them (21 neurons), the instruction response was nondifferential.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


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