scholarly journals Modulation of complex spike activity differs between zebrin-positive and -negative Purkinje cells in the pigeon cerebellum

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 250-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca M. Long ◽  
Janelle M. P. Pakan ◽  
David J. Graham ◽  
Peter L. Hurd ◽  
Cristian Gutierrez-Ibañez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Markers ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Mossy Fiber ◽  
Vestibular Nuclei ◽  
Uniform Structure ◽  
Complex Spike ◽  
Zebrin Ii

The cerebellum is organized into parasagittal zones defined by its climbing and mossy fiber inputs, efferent projections, and Purkinje cell (PC) response properties. Additionally, parasagittal stripes can be visualized with molecular markers, such as heterogeneous expression of the isoenzyme zebrin II (ZII), where sagittal stripes of high ZII expression (ZII+) are interdigitated with stripes of low ZII expression (ZII−). In the pigeon vestibulocerebellum, a ZII+/− stripe pair represents a functional unit, insofar as both ZII+ and ZII− PCs within a stripe pair respond best to the same pattern of optic flow. In the present study, we attempted to determine whether there were any differences in the responses between ZII+ and ZII− PCs within a functional unit in response to optic flow stimuli. In pigeons of either sex, we recorded complex spike activity (CSA) from PCs in response to optic flow, marked recording sites with a fluorescent tracer, and determined the ZII identity of recorded PCs by immunohistochemistry. We found that CSA of ZII+ PCs showed a greater depth of modulation in response to the preferred optic flow pattern compared with ZII− PCs. We suggest that these differences in the depth of modulation to optic flow stimuli are due to differences in the connectivity of ZII+ and ZII− PCs within a functional unit. Specifically, ZII+ PCs project to areas of the vestibular nuclei that provide inhibitory feedback to the inferior olive, whereas ZII− PCs do not. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Although the cerebellum appears to be a uniform structure, Purkinje cells (PCs) are heterogeneous and can be categorized on the basis of the expression of molecular markers. These phenotypes are conserved across species, but the significance is undetermined. PCs in the vestibulocerebellum encode optic flow resulting from self-motion, and those that express the molecular marker zebrin II (ZII+) exhibit more sensitivity to optic flow than those that do not express zebrin II (ZII−).

Complex Spike Activity of Purkinje Cells in the Ventral Uvula and Nodulus of Pigeons in Response to Translational Optic Flow

1999 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 256-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas R. W. Wylie ◽  
Barrie J. Frost
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Semicircular Canals ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Postural Control System ◽  
Complex Spike ◽  
Forward Translation ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Direction Preference

Wylie, Douglas R. W. and Barrie J. Frost. Complex spike activity of Purkinje cells in the ventral uvula and nodulus of pigeons in response to translational optic flow. J. Neurophysiol. 81: 256–266, 1999. The complex spike (CS) activity of Purkinje cells in the ventral uvula and nodulus of the vestibulocerebellum was recorded from anesthetized pigeons in response to translational optic flow. Translational optic flow was produced using a “translator” projector: a mechanical device that projected a translational optic flowfield onto the walls, ceiling, and floor of the room and encompassed the entire binocular visual field. CS activity was broadly tuned but maximally modulated in response to translational optic flow along a “best” axis. Each neuron was assigned a vector representing the direction in which the animal would need to translate to produce the optic flowfield that resulted in maximal excitation. The vector is described with reference to a standard right-handed coordinate system, where the vectors, + x, + y, and + z represent, rightward, upward, and forward translation of the animal, respectively. Neurons could be grouped into four response types based on the vector of maximal excitation. + y neurons were modulated maximally in response to a translational optic flowfield that results from self-motion upward along the vertical ( y) axis. − y neurons also responded best to translational optic flow along the vertical axis but showed the opposite direction preference. The two remaining groups responded best to translational optic flow along horizontal axes: − x + z neurons and − x− z neurons. In summary, our results suggest that the olivocerebellar system dedicated to the analysis of translational optic flow is organized according to a reference frame consisting of three approximately orthogonal axes: the vertical axis, and two horizontal axes oriented 45° to either side the midline. Previous research has shown that the rotational optic flow system, the eye muscles, the vestibular semicircular canals and the postural control system all share a similar spatial frame of reference.

Nonclock behavior of inferior olive neurons: interspike interval of Purkinje cell complex spike discharge in the awake behaving monkey is random

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1329-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Keating ◽  
W. T. Thach
Keyword(s):  
Fourier Transform ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Interspike Interval ◽  
Inferior Olive ◽  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Wrist Movement ◽  
General Role ◽  
Complex Spike ◽  
Bodily Movement

1. Complex spikes of cerebellar Purkinje cells recorded from awake, behaving monkeys were studied to determine the extent to which their discharge could be quantified as periodic. Three Rhesus monkeys were trained to perform up to five different tasks involving rotation of the wrist in relation to a visual cue. Complex spike activity was recorded during task performance and intertrial time. Interspike intervals were determined from the discharge of each of 89 Purkinje cells located throughout lobules IV, V, and VI. Autocorrelation and Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function were performed on the data. In addition, the activity from one cell was transformed so that the discharge occurred on the beat of a 10-Hz clock, and in a further transformation, on the beat of a noisy 10-Hz clock. These transformed data were then analyzed as described above. 2. Fourier transform of the autocorrelogram function of the data that had been transformed to a 10-Hz clock, and that of the noisy 10-Hz clock, both showed a prominent peak at 10 Hz. However, the autocorrelograms and the Fourier transforms of the autocorrelogram functions failed to reveal a prominent periodicity for the actual discharge of any of cells, at any frequency up to 100 Hz: the discharge appeared random with respect to the interspike interval. The discharge was not random with respect to behavior. Complex spike activity was commonly time locked to the start of wrist movement. We examined this discharge to see whether oscillatory discharge could be seen after alignment of the data on the start of wrist movement, or after alignment of the data on the complex spike occurring peri-start of wrist movement. No oscillation was seen for either alignment. 3. The inferior olive, which sends its climbing fibers to the cerebellum, has been implicated in such different activities as 1) pathological tremor of the soft palate, 2) physiological tremor, 3) the normal initiation of all bodily movement, and 4) motor learning. Previous work in pharmacologically or surgically treated animals has shown that, under some conditions, the discharge of these neurons is periodic and synchronous. This firing pattern has been interpreted to support a role in the first two activities. But measurements reported here in the awake monkey show just the opposite: the discharge is aperiodic to the extent of being random. As such, the inferior olive cannot be a "motor clock" in the general role that has been proposed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Differential Purkinje cell simple spike activity and pausing behavior related to cerebellar modules

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 2524-2536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haibo Zhou ◽  
Kai Voges ◽  
Zhanmin Lin ◽  
Chiheng Ju ◽  
Martijn Schonewille
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cell ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Cerebellar Cortex ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Vestibular Nuclei ◽  
Simple Spike ◽  
Transverse Zone ◽  
Cerebellar Modules ◽  
Lower Temperature ◽  
Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

The massive computational capacity of the cerebellar cortex is conveyed by Purkinje cells onto cerebellar and vestibular nuclei neurons through their GABAergic, inhibitory output. This implies that pauses in Purkinje cell simple spike activity are potentially instrumental in cerebellar information processing, but their occurrence and extent are still heavily debated. The cerebellar cortex, although often treated as such, is not homogeneous. Cerebellar modules with distinct anatomical connectivity and gene expression have been described, and Purkinje cells in these modules also differ in firing rate of simple and complex spikes. In this study we systematically correlate, in awake mice, the pausing in simple spike activity of Purkinje cells recorded throughout the entire cerebellum, with their location in terms of lobule, transverse zone, and zebrin-identified cerebellar module. A subset of Purkinje cells displayed long (>500-ms) pauses, but we found that their occurrence correlated with tissue damage and lower temperature. In contrast to long pauses, short pauses (<500 ms) and the shape of the interspike interval (ISI) distributions can differ between Purkinje cells of different lobules and cerebellar modules. In fact, the ISI distributions can differ both between and within populations of Purkinje cells with the same zebrin identity, and these differences are at least in part caused by differential synaptic inputs. Our results suggest that long pauses are rare but that there are differences related to shorter intersimple spike intervals between and within specific subsets of Purkinje cells, indicating a potential further segregation in the activity of cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Organization of the cerebellum: Correlating zebrin immunochemistry with optic flow zones in the pigeon flocculus

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
JANELLE M.P. PAKAN ◽  
DAVID J. GRAHAM ◽  
CRISTIÁN GUTIÉRREZ-IBÁÑEZ ◽  
DOUGLAS R. WYLIE
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Markers ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Physiological Response ◽  
Inferior Olive ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Gaze Stabilization ◽  
Zebrin Ii ◽  
Functional Zone ◽  
Natural Stimulation ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies

AbstractThe cerebellar cortex has a fundamental parasagittal organization that is apparent in the physiological response properties of Purkinje cells (PCs) and the expression of several molecular markers such as zebrin II (ZII). ZII is heterogeneously expressed in PCs such that there are sagittal stripes of high expression [ZII immunopositive (ZII+)] interdigitated with stripes of little or no expression [ZII immunonegative (ZII−)]. Several studies in rodents have suggested that climbing fiber (CF) afferents from an individual subnucleus in the inferior olive project to either ZII+ or ZII− stripes but not both. In this report, we show that this is not the case in the pigeon flocculus. The flocculus (the lateral half of folia IXcd and X) receives visual-optokinetic information and is important for generating compensatory eye movements to facilitate gaze stabilization. Previous electrophysiological studies from our lab have shown that the pigeon flocculus consists of four parasagittal zones: 0, 1, 2, and 3. PC complex spike activity (CSA), which reflects CF input, in zones 0 and 2 responds best to rotational optokinetic stimuli about the vertical axis (VA zones), whereas CSA in zones 1 and 3 responds best to rotational optokinetic stimuli about the horizontal axis (HA zones). In addition, folium IXcd consists of seven pairs of ZII+/− stripes. Here, we recorded CSA of floccular PCs to optokinetic stimuli, marked recording locations, and subsequently visualized ZII expression in the flocculus. VA neurons were localized to the P4+/− and P6+/− stripes and HA neurons were localized to the P5+/− and P7− stripes. This is the first study showing that a series of adjacent ZII+/− stripes are tied to specific physiological functions as measured in the responses of PCs to natural stimulation. Moreover, this study shows that the functional zone in the pigeon flocculus spans a ZII+/− stripe pair, which is contrary to the scheme proposed from rodent research.

Simple spike and complex spike activity of floccular Purkinje cells during the optokinetic reflex in mice lacking cerebellar long-term depression

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 687-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. L. M. Goossens ◽  
F. E. Hoebeek ◽  
A. M. van Alphen ◽  
J. van der Steen ◽  
J. S. Stahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Long Term Depression ◽  
Complex Spike ◽  
Simple Spike ◽  
Optokinetic Reflex

Zebrin Expression in the Cerebellum of Two Crocodilian Species

2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-55
Author(s):  
Cristián  Gutiérrez-Ibáñez  ◽  
Max R. Dannish ◽  
Tobias Kohl ◽  
Lutz  Kettler ◽  
Catherine E. Carr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Markers ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Glycolytic Enzyme ◽  
Alligator Mississippiensis ◽  
Aldolase C ◽  
Zebrin Ii ◽  
Close Phylogenetic Relationship ◽  
Afferent Inputs ◽  
Sagittal Zones ◽  
Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

While in birds and mammals the cerebellum is a highly convoluted structure that consists of numerous transverse lobules, in most amphibians and reptiles it consists of only a single unfolded sheet. Orthogonal to the lobules, the cerebellum is comprised of sagittal zones that are revealed in the pattern of afferent inputs, the projection patterns of Purkinje cells, and Purkinje cell response properties, among other features. The expression of several molecular markers, such as aldolase C, is also parasagittally organized. Aldolase C, also known as zebrin II (ZII), is a glycolytic enzyme expressed in the cerebellar Purkinje cells of the vertebrate cerebellum. In birds, mammals, and some lizards (Ctenophoresspp.), ZII is expressed in a heterogenous fashion of alternating sagittal bands of high (ZII+) and low (ZII–) expression Purkinje cells. In contrast, turtles and snakes express ZII homogenously (ZII+) in their cerebella, but the pattern in crocodilians is unknown. Here, we examined the expression of ZII in two crocodilian species (Crocodylus niloticus and Alligator mississippiensis) to help determine the evolutionary origin of striped ZII expression in vertebrates. We expected crocodilians to express ZII in a striped (ZII+/ZII–) manner because of their close phylogenetic relationship to birds and their larger and more folded cerebellum compared to that of snakes and turtles. Contrary to our prediction, all Purkinje cells in the crocodilian cerebellum had a generally homogenous expression of ZII (ZII+) rather than clear ZII+/– stripes. Our results suggest that either ZII stripes were lost in three groups (snakes, turtles, and crocodilians) or ZII stripes evolved independently three times (lizards, birds, and mammals).

Increase in Purkinje cell gain associated with naturally activated climbing fiber input

1983 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Ebner ◽  
Q. X. Yu ◽  
J. R. Bloedel
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cell ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Mossy Fiber ◽  
Climbing Fiber ◽  
Peripheral Stimulus ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Spike Response ◽  
Complex Spike ◽  
Simple Spike ◽  
Complex Spikes

These experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that climbing fiber inputs evoked by a peripheral stimulus increase the responsiveness of Purkinje cells to mossy fiber inputs. This hypothesis was based on a previous series of observations demonstrating that spontaneous climbing fiber inputs are associated with an accentuation of the Purkinje cell responses to subsequent mossy fiber inputs (10, 12). Furthermore, short-term nonpersistent interactions between climbing and mossy fiber inputs have been an important aspect of many theories of cerebellar function (5, 7, 8, 12, 36). Extracellular unitary recordings were made from Purkinje cells in lobule V of decerebrate, unanesthetized cats. To activate mossy and climbing fiber inputs, the forepaw was passively flexed by a Ling vibrator system. A data analysis was developed to sort the simple spike trials into two groups, based on the presence or absence of complex spikes activated by the stimulus. In addition, during those trials in which complex spikes were activated, the simple spike train was aligned on the occurrence of the complex spike. For each simple spike response to the forepaw input, the average firing rate during the response was compared to background both in those trials in which complex spikes were activated and in those in which they were not. The ratio of the response amplitudes in the histograms constructed from these two groups of trials permitted a quantification of the change in responsiveness when climbing fiber inputs were activated. The results show that both excitatory and inhibitory simple spike responses are accentuated when associated with the activation of a complex spike. Using an arbitrary level of a gain change ratio of 120% as indicating a significant modification, 64% of the response components analyzed increased their amplitude when climbing fiber input was present. Simple spike response components occurring prior to complex spike activation were usually not accentuated, although in a few cells the amplitude of this component of the response increased. In addition, in a small number of cells the occurrence of complex spikes was associated with a new simple spike component. For excitatory responses, the magnitude of the gain change ratio was shown to be inversely related to the amplitude of the simple spike response evoked by the mossy fiber inputs. The data obtained is consistent with the hypothesis that the climbing fiber input is associated with an increase in the responsiveness of Purkinje cells to mossy fiber inputs. The increased responsiveness occurs whether the simple spike modulation evoked by the peripheral stimulus is excitatory or inhibitory. The change in responsiveness is short term and nonpersistent. It is argued that the activation of climbing fiber inputs to the cerebellar cortex is associated with an increase in the gain of Purkinje cells to mossy fiber inputs activated by natural peripheral stimuli.

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