Neurons in the cat pretectum that project to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus are activated during saccades

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 2907-2918 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Retinal Slip ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

1. Neurons in the pretectal nuclear complex that project to the ipsilateral dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) were identified by antidromic activation after electrical LGNd stimulation in awake cats, and their response properties were characterized to retinal image shifts elicited either by external visual stimulus movements or during spontaneous saccadic eye movements on a stationary visual stimulus, and to saccades in darkness. Eye position was monitored with the use of a scleral search coil and care was taken to assure stability of the eyes during presentation of moving visual stimuli. 2. Of a total sample of 134 cells recorded, 27 neurons were antidromically activated by electrical LGNd stimulation. In addition, responses from neurons that were not activated from the LGNd were also analyzed, including 19 “retinal slip” cells, which selectively respond to slow horizontal stimulus movements, and 21 “jerk” cells, which are specifically activated by rapid stimulus shifts. All recorded neurons were located in the nucleus of the optic tract and in the posterior pretectal nucleus. 3. In the light, neurons identified as projecting to the LGNd responded maximally to saccadic eye movements and to externally generated sudden shifts of large visual stimuli. Slow stimulus drifts did not activate these neurons. Response latencies were shorter and peak activities were increased during saccades compared with pure visual stimulation. No systematic correlation between response latency, response duration, or the number of spikes in the response and saccade direction, saccade amplitude, or saccade duration was found. Saccades and rapid stimulus shifts in the light also activated jerk cells but not retinal slip cells. 4. All 27 antidromically activated neurons also responded to spontaneous saccadic eye movements in complete darkness. Responses to saccades in the dark, however, had longer response latencies and lower peak activities than responses to saccades in light. As in the light, response parameters in darkness seemed not to code specific saccade parameters. Cells that were not activated from LGNd were found to be unresponsive to saccades in the dark. 5. According to their specific activation by saccades in darkness, LGNd-projecting pretectal neurons are termed “saccade neurons” to distinguish them from other pretectal cell populations, in particular from jerk neurons, which show similar response properties in light. 6. The saccade-related activation of pretectal saccade neurons may be used to modulate visual responses of LGNd relay cells following saccadic eye movements. Because the pretectogeniculate projection in cat most likely is GABAergic and terminates on inhibitory LGNd interneurons, its activation may lead to a saccade-locked disinhibition of relay cells. This input could counter the strong inhibition induced in the LGNd after shifts of gaze direction and lead to a resetting of LGNd cell activity.

Motor intention activity in the macaque's lateral intraparietal area. I. Dissociation of motor plan from sensory memory

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1439-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Mazzoni ◽  
R. M. Bracewell ◽  
S. Barash ◽  
R. A. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Sensory Memory ◽  
Lateral Intraparietal Area ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Motor Plan ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. The lateral intraparietal area (area LIP) of the monkey's posterior parietal cortex (PPC) contains neurons that are active during saccadic eye movements. These neurons' activity includes visual and saccade-related components. These responses are spatially tuned and the location of a neuron's visual receptive field (RF) relative to the fovea generally overlaps its preferred saccade amplitude and direction (i.e., its motor field, MF). When a delay is imposed between the presentation of a visual stimulus and a saccade made to its location (memory saccade task), many LIP neurons maintain elevated activity during the delay (memory activity, M), which appears to encode the metrics of the next intended saccadic eye movements. Recent studies have alternatively suggested that LIP neurons encode the locations of visual stimuli regardless of where the animal intends to look. We examined whether the M activity of LIP neurons specifically encodes movement intention or the locations of recent visual stimuli, or a combination of both. In the accompanying study, we investigated whether the intended-movement activity reflects changes in motor plan. 2. We trained monkeys (Macaca mulatta) to memorize the locations of two visual stimuli and plan a sequence of two saccades, one to each remembered target, as we recorded the activity of single LIP neurons. Two targets were flashed briefly while the monkey maintained fixation; after a delay the fixation point was extinguished, and the monkey made two saccades in sequence to each target's remembered location, in the order in which the targets were presented. This "delayed double saccade" (DDS) paradigm allowed us to dissociate the location of visual stimulation from the direction of the planned saccade and thus distinguish neuronal activity related to the target's location from activity related to the saccade plan. By imposing a delay, we eliminated the confounding effect of any phasic responses coincident with the appearance of the stimulus and with the saccade. 3. We arranged the two visual stimuli so that in one set of conditions at least the first one was in the neuron's visual RF, and thus the first saccade was in the neuron's motor field (MF). M activity should be high in these conditions according to both the sensory memory and motor plan hypotheses. In another set of conditions, the second stimulus appeared in the RF but the first one was presented outside the RF, instructing the monkey to plan the first saccade away from the neuron's MF. If the M activity encodes the motor plan, it should be low in these conditions, reflecting the plan for the first saccade (away from the MF). If it is a sensory trace of the stimulus' location, it should be high, reflecting stimulation of the RF by the second target. 4. We tested 49 LIP neurons (in 3 hemispheres of 2 monkeys) with M activity on the DDS task. Of these, 38 (77%) had M activity related to the next intended saccade. They were active in the delay period, as expected, if the first saccade was in their preferred direction. They were less active or silent if the next saccade was not in their preferred direction, even when the second stimulus appeared in their RF. 5. The M activity of 8 (16%) of the remaining neurons specifically encoded the location of the most recent visual stimulus. Their firing rate during the delay reflected stimulation of the RF independently of the saccade being planned. The remaining 3 neurons had M activity that did not consistently encode either the next saccade or the stimulus' location. 6. We also recorded the activity of a subset of neurons (n = 38) in a condition in which no stimulus appeared in a neuron's RF, but the second saccade was in the neuron's MF. In this case the majority of neurons tested (23/38, 60%) became active in the period between the first and second saccade, even if neither stimulus had appeared in their RF. Moreover, this activity appeared only after the first saccade had started in all but two of

Development of neuronal response properties in the cat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus during monocular deprivation

1983 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Mangel ◽  
J. R. Wilson ◽  
S. M. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Optic Chiasm ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
X And Y Cells ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

We measured response properties of X- and Y-cells from laminae A and A1 of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of monocularly lid-sutured cats at 8, 12, 16, 24, and 52-60 wk of age. Visual stimuli consisted of small spots of light and vertically oriented sine-wave gratings counterphased at a rate of 2 cycles/s. In cats as young as 8 wk of age, nondeprived and deprived neurons could be clearly identified as X-cells or Y-cells with criteria previously established for adult animals. Nonlinear responses of Y-cells from 8- and 12-wk-old cats were often temporally labile; that is, the amplitude of the nonlinear response of nondeprived and deprived cells increased or decreased suddenly. A similar lability was not noted for the linear response component. This phenomenon rarely occurred in older cats. At 8 wk of age, Y-cell proportions (number of Y-cells/total number of cells) in nondeprived and deprived A-laminae were approximately equal. By 12 wk of age and thereafter, the proportion of Y-cells in deprived laminae was significantly lower than that in nondeprived laminae. At no age was there a systematic difference in response properties (spatial resolution, latency to optic chiasm stimulation, etc.) for Y-cells between deprived and nondeprived laminae. Spatial resolution, defined as the highest spatial frequency to which a cell would respond at a contrast of 0.6, was similar for nondeprived and deprived X-cells until 24 wk of age. In these and older cats, the mean spatial resolution of deprived X-cells was lower than that of nondeprived X-cells. This difference was noted first for lamina A1 at 24 wk of age and later for lamina A at 52-60 wk of age. The average latency of X-cells to optic chiasm stimulation was slightly greater in deprived laminae than in nondeprived laminae. No such difference was seen for Y-cells. Cells with poor and inconsistent responses were encountered infrequently but were observed far more often in deprived laminae than in nondeprived laminae. Lid suture appears to affect the development of geniculate X- and Y-cells in very different ways. Not only is the final pattern of abnormalities quite different between these cell groups, but the developmental dynamics of these abnormalities also differ.

Visual Response Properties of Burst and Tonic Firing in the Mouse Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 3224-3247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Grubb ◽  
Ian D. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Burst Firing ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Tonic Firing ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

Thalamic relay cells fire action potentials in two modes: burst and tonic. Previous studies in cats have shown that these two modes are associated with significant differences in the visual information carried by spikes in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). Here we describe the visual response properties of burst and tonic firing in the mouse dLGN. Extracellular recordings of activity in single geniculate cells were performed under halothane and nitrous oxide anesthesia in vivo. After confirming that the criteria used to isolate burst spikes from these recordings identify firing events with properties described for burst firing in other species and preparations, we show that burst firing in the mouse dLGN occurs during visual stimulation. We then compare burst and tonic firing across a wide range of visual response characteristics. While the two firing modes do not differ with respect to spatial summation or spatial frequency tuning, they show significant differences in the temporal domain. Burst spikes are phase advanced relative to their tonic counterparts. Burst firing is also more rectified, possesses sharper temporal frequency tuning, and prefers lower temporal frequencies than tonic firing. In addition, contrast-response curves are more step-like for burst responses. Finally, we present analyses that describe the stimulus detection abilities and spike timing reliability of burst and tonic firing.

Saccade-induced activity of dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus X- and Y-cells during pharmacological inactivation of the cat pretectum

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.H. FISCHER ◽  
M. SCHMIDT ◽  
K.-P. HOFFMANN
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Reversible Inactivation ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Moving Pattern

The influence of neurons projecting from the pretectal nuclear complex to the ipsilateral dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) was investigated in awake cats. Responses from relay cells in the A-laminae of the LGNd were extracellularly recorded and analyzed during saccadic eye movements and visual stimulation in association with reversible inactivation of the ipsilateral pretectum with the GABA agonist, muscimol. Pretectal inactivation (PTI) resulted in spontaneous nystagmic eye movements in the dark with slow phases directed away from the injected side. In the control situation, all Y-cells and about two thirds of X-cells were excited during saccades or saccade-like visual stimulation but one third of X-cells were inhibited. During PTI all recorded X-cells were inhibited, either during saccades or saccade-like visual stimulation. The PTI-associated inhibition was stronger than in inhibited X-cells in control experiments only during saccades but not during stimulation with a moving pattern while the eyes were stationary. In Y-cells a reduction in the response peak width at half-height was seen during PTI, again only during saccades but not during stimulation with a moving pattern. These results indicate that during saccades the pretecto-geniculate pathway has a stronger influence on X LGNd relay cells than on Y-cells. The findings are discussed in terms of saccadic suppression and postsaccadic facilitation.

scholarly journals Melanopsin-driven increases in maintained activity enhance thalamic visual response reliability across a simulated dawn

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (42) ◽  
pp. E5734-E5743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Storchi ◽  
Nina Milosavljevic ◽  
Cyril G. Eleftheriou ◽  
Franck P. Martial ◽  
Patrycja Orlowska-Feuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Silent Substitution ◽  
Background Light ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

Twice a day, at dawn and dusk, we experience gradual but very high amplitude changes in background light intensity (irradiance). Although we perceive the associated change in environmental brightness, the representation of such very slow alterations in irradiance by the early visual system has been little studied. Here, we addressed this deficit by recording electrophysiological activity in the mouse dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus under exposure to a simulated dawn. As irradiance increased we found a widespread enhancement in baseline firing that extended to units with ON as well as OFF responses to fast luminance increments. This change in baseline firing was equally apparent when the slow irradiance ramp appeared alone or when a variety of higher-frequency artificial or natural visual stimuli were superimposed upon it. Using a combination of conventional knockout, chemogenetic, and receptor-silent substitution manipulations, we continued to show that, over higher irradiances, this increase in firing originates with inner-retinal melanopsin photoreception. At the single-unit level, irradiance-dependent increases in baseline firing were strongly correlated with improvements in the amplitude of responses to higher-frequency visual stimuli. This in turn results in an up to threefold increase in single-trial reliability of fast visual responses. In this way, our data indicate that melanopsin drives a generalized increase in dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus excitability as dawn progresses that both conveys information about changing background light intensity and increases the signal:noise for fast visual responses.

Brain-stem influence on visual response of lagged and nonlagged cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hartveit ◽  
P. Heggelund
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Similar Degree ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Response Increase ◽  
Lagged Cells

AbstractThis study examined the influence of the pontomesencephalic peribrachial region (PBR) on the visual response properties of cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The response of single cells to a stationary flashing light spot was recorded with accompanying electrical stimulation of the PBR. The major objectives were to compare the effects of PBR stimulation on lagged and nonlagged cells, to examine how the visual response pattern of lagged cells could be modified by PBR stimulation and to examine whether the physiological criteria used to classify lagged and nonlagged cells are applicable during increased PBR input to the LGN. During PBR stimulation, the visual response was enhanced to a similar degree for lagged and nonlagged cells and the latency to half-rise of the visual response was reduced, particularly for the lagged X cells. The latency to half-fall of the visual response of lagged cells was not changed by PBR stimulation. Accordingly, the division of LGN cells into lagged and nonlagged cells based on visual response latencies was maintained during PBR stimulation. The initial suppression that a visual stimulus evokes in lagged cells was resistant to the effects of PBR stimulation. For the lagged cells, the largest response increase occurred for the initial part of the visual response. For the nonlagged cells, the largest increase occurred for the tonic part of the response. The results support the hypothesis that the differences in temporal response properties between lagged and nonlagged cells belong to the basic distinctions between these cell classes.

Neural activity in cortical area MST of alert monkey during ocular following responses

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 2305-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kawano ◽  
M. Shidara ◽  
Y. Watanabe ◽  
S. Yamane
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Stimulus Speed ◽  
Ocular Following ◽  
Mst Neurons

1. We studied response properties of neurons in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) of behaving monkeys that discharged during brief, sudden movements of a large-field visual stimulus, eliciting ocular following. Most neurons responded to movements of a large-field visual stimulus with directional selectivity, preferring high stimulus speeds. Neurons were mostly recorded in the medial superior temporal area (MST) (187/250) and the middle temporal area (MT) (57/250). Further response properties were studied in the MST neurons. 2. Response latencies were measured when a large-field random dot pattern was moved in the preferred direction and preferred speed for each neuron. Eighty percent (120/150) of the neurons were activated “ 50 ms after the onset of the stimulus motion. In most cases (89%, 134/150), increased firing rates started before the eye movements, with 59% (88/150) starting ” 10 ms before the eye movements. 3. The relationship between the latency of neuronal responses and that of eye movements was studied in 59 neurons by changing the stimulus speed systematically (10–160 degrees/s). The latencies of both neuronal and ocular responses decreased as stimulus speed increased. As a result, the time difference between the response latencies for neuronal and ocular responses varied little with changes in stimulus speed. 4. Blurring of the random dot pattern, by interposing a sheet of ground glass, increased the latency of both neuronal responses and eye movements. 5. With the use of a check pattern instead of random dots, both neuronal and ocular responses began to decrease rapidly when the temporal frequency of the visual stimulus exceeded 20 Hz. At 40 Hz the neurons showed a distinctive burst-and-pause firing pattern, and the eye movements showed signs of oscillation. 6. The response properties of the MST neurons during ocular following were similar to those of the dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) neurons, reported previously. Our results indicate that the MST neurons may provide visual information to the DLPN neurons and may play a role in eliciting ocular following. 7. Responses during smooth-pursuit eye movement were studied in 55 MST neurons. Each of these neurons responded to the moving large-field visual stimulus, which elicited ocular following, and 40 of these neurons were activated during smooth pursuit in the dark. Response latencies during smooth pursuit were long in those neurons having different directional preferences during smooth pursuit and ocular following but were short for those having the same directional preferences during smooth pursuit and ocular following.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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