scholarly journals MI Neuronal Responses to Peripheral Whisker Stimulation: Relationship to Neuronal Activity in SI Barrels and Septa

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shubhodeep Chakrabarti ◽  
Mengliang Zhang ◽  
Kevin D. Alloway

The whisker region in the rodent primary motor (MI) cortex receives dense projections from neurons aligned with the layer IV septa in the whisker region of the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex. To compare whisker-induced responses in MI with respect to the SI responses in the septa and adjoining barrel regions, we used several experimental approaches in anesthetized rats. Reversible inactivation of SI and the surrounding cortex suppressed the magnitude of whisker-induced responses in the MI whisker region by 80%. Subsequent laminar analysis of MI responses to electrical or mechanical stimulation of the whisker pad revealed that the most responsive MI neurons were located ≥1.0 mm below the pia. When layer IV neurons in SI were recorded simultaneously with deep MI neurons during low-frequency (2-Hz) deflections of the whiskers, the neurons in the SI barrels responded 2–6 ms earlier than those in MI. Barrel neurons displayed similar response latencies at all stimulus frequencies, but the response latencies in MI and the SI septa increased significantly when the whiskers were deflected at frequencies of 8 Hz. Finally, cross-correlation analysis of neuronal activity in SI and MI revealed greater amounts of time-locked coordination among septa–MI neuron pairs than among barrel–MI neuron pairs. These results suggest that the somatosensory corticocortical inputs to MI cortex convey information processed by the SI septal circuits.

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 2589-2602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Tamura ◽  
Yoshiya Mori ◽  
Hidekazu Kaneko

Detailed knowledge of neuronal circuitry is necessary for understanding the mechanisms underlying information processing in the brain. We investigated the organization of horizontal functional interactions in the inferior temporal cortex of macaque monkeys, which plays important roles in visual object recognition. Neuronal activity was recorded from the inferior temporal cortex using an array of eight tetrodes, with spatial separation between paired neurons up to 1.4 mm. We evaluated functional interactions on a time scale of milliseconds using cross-correlation analysis of neuronal activity of the paired neurons. Visual response properties of neurons were evaluated using responses to a set of 100 visual stimuli. Adjacent neuron pairs tended to show strong functional interactions compared with more distant neuron pairs, and neurons with similar stimulus preferences tended to show stronger functional interactions than neurons with different stimulus preferences. Thus horizontal functional interactions in the inferior temporal cortex appear to be organized according to both cortical distances and similarity in stimulus preference between neurons. Furthermore, the relationship between strength of functional interactions and similarity in stimulus preference observed in distant neuron pairs was more prominent than in adjacent pairs. The results suggest that functional circuitry is specifically organized, depending on the horizontal distances between neurons. Such specificity endows each circuit with unique functions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongju Chen ◽  
Shuai Zhou ◽  
Lihua Dong ◽  
Jinwei Fan

This paper presents a new identification method to identify the main errors of the machine tool in time-frequency domain. The low- and high-frequency signals of the workpiece surface are decomposed based on the Daubechies wavelet transform. With power spectral density analysis, the main features of the high-frequency signal corresponding to the imbalance of the spindle system are extracted from the surface topography of the workpiece in the frequency domain. With the cross-correlation analysis method, the relationship between the guideway error of the machine tool and the low-frequency signal of the surface topography is calculated in the time domain.


2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 2084-2094 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Lenz ◽  
C. J. Jaeger ◽  
M. S. Seike ◽  
Y. C. Lin ◽  
S. G. Reich

Tremor that occurs as a result of a cerebellar lesion, cerebellar tremor, is characteristically an intention tremor. Thalamic activity may be related to cerebellar tremor because transmission of some cerebellar efferent signals occurs via the thalamus and cortex to the periphery. We have now studied thalamic neuronal activity in a cerebellar relay nucleus (ventral intermediate—Vim) and a pallidal relay nucleus (ventralis oral posterior—Vop) during thalamotomy in patients with intention tremor and other clinical signs of cerebellar disease (tremor patients). The activity of single neurons and the simultaneous electromyographic (EMG) activity of the contralateral upper extremity in tremor patients performing a pointing task were analyzed by spectral cross-correlation analysis. EMG spectra during intention tremor often showed peaks of activity in the tremor-frequency range (1.9–5.8 Hz). There were significant differences in thalamic neuronal activity between tremor patients and controls. Neurons in Vim and Vop had significantly lower firing rates in tremor patients than in patients undergoing thalamic surgery for pain (pain controls). Other studies have shown that inputs to Vim from the cerebellum are transmitted through excitatory connections. Therefore the present results suggest that tremor in these tremor patients is associated with deafferentation of the thalamus from cerebellar efferent pathways. The thalamic X EMG cross-correlation functions were studied for cells located in Vim and Vop. Neuronal and EMG activity were as likely to be significantly correlated for cells in Vim as for those in Vop. Cells in Vim were more likely to have a phase lag relative to EMG than were cells in Vop. In monkeys, cells in the cerebellar relay nucleus of the thalamus, corresponding to Vim, are reported to lead movement during active oscillations at the wrist. In view of these monkey studies, the present results suggest that cells in Vim are deafferented and have a phase lag relative to tremor that is not found in normal active oscillations. The difference in phase of thalamic spike X EMG activity between Vim and Vop may contribute to tremor because lesions of pallidum or Vop are reported to relieve cerebellar tremor.


1984 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 1434-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. LaMotte ◽  
H. E. Torebjork ◽  
C. J. Robinson ◽  
J. G. Thalhammer

Contributions of evoked discharge in nociceptors with C-fibers to the temporal profiles of magnitude judgments of pain by humans were determined for heat stimulations of the skin before and after the development of hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain) produced by a mild heat injury. Human subjects continuously rated the magnitude of pain evoked by short-duration heat stimuli of 39-51 degrees C delivered to the hairy skin of the arm or leg (calf or foot) before and after the development of hyperalgesia produced by a conditioning stimulus (CS) of either 50 degrees C for 100 s or 48 degrees C for 360 s. During heat stimulations of the leg in humans, magnitude judgments of pain were obtained simultaneously with recordings of evoked discharges in single C-fiber mechanoheat (CMH) nociceptive afferent fibers. Seven fibers were studied before and after the CS. In other experiments, magnitude ratings of pain evoked by heat stimulations of the arm were compared with heat-evoked discharges in 21 CMH nociceptive afferent fibers innervating the hairy skin of the wrist or hand in anesthetized monkeys. From CMH responses obtained in each species, median response latencies were calculated as well as poststimulus time (PST) histograms--the latter plotting mean frequency of discharge versus time during each stimulus. In these analyses, the times of action potentials in CMHs were calculated as they would occur at entry to the lumbar or cervical spinal cord in humans, taking into account the temporal dispersion that should occur because of differing conduction velocities. These results were then compared with response latencies for pain and the temporal profiles of pain ratings made by individual subjects. Comparisons were made for data obtained before the CS (normal skin) and those obtained 10 min after the CS in heat-sensitized (hyperalgesic) skin. For normal skin, PST histograms of mean frequencies of discharge were similar for CMHs with similar heat thresholds (41-43 degrees) in the anesthetized monkey and the awake human. Despite minor discrepancies, there were similarities in the changes in these histograms for monkey and human CMHs following heat sensitization after the CS. It was concluded that CMHs in monkeys and humans have similar response magnitudes and temporal profiles of response to heat. The major differences in the temporal profiles of CMH responses and human pain ratings were the latencies at which CMH responses and pain ratings began, reached maximum, and ended.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 2868-2877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Iwata ◽  
Takao Imai ◽  
Yoshiyuki Tsuboi ◽  
Akimasa Tashiro ◽  
Akiko Ogawa ◽  
...  

The effects of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) transection on escape behavior and MDH neuronal activity to noxious and nonnoxious stimulation of the face were precisely analyzed. Relative thresholds for escape from mechanical stimulation applied to the whisker pad area ipsilateral to the transection were significantly lower than that for the contralateral and sham-operated whisker pad until 28 days after the transection, then returned to the preoperative level at 40 days after transection. A total of 540 neurons were recorded from the medullary dorsal horn (MDH) of the nontreated naive rats [low-threshold mechanoreceptive (LTM), 27; wide dynamic range (WDR), 31; nociceptive specific (NS), 11] and sham-operated rats with skin incision (LTM, 34; WDR, 30; NS, 23) and from the ipsilateral (LTM, 82; WDR, 82; NS, 31) and contralateral MDH relative to the IAN transection (LTM, 77; WDR, 82; NS, 33). The electrophysiological properties of these neurons were precisely analyzed. Background activity of WDR neurons on the ipsilateral side relative to the transection was significantly increased at 2–14 days after the operation as compared with that of naive rats. Innocuous and noxious mechanical-evoked responses of LTM and WDR neurons were significantly enhanced at 2–14 days after IAN transection. The mean area of the receptive fields of WDR neurons was significantly larger on the ipsilateral MDH at 2–7 days after transection than that of naive rats. We could not observe any modulation of thermal responses of WDR and NS neurons following IAN transection. Also, no MDH neurons were significantly affected in the rats with sham operations. The present findings suggest that the increment of neuronal activity of WDR neurons in the MDH following IAN transection may play an important role in the development of the mechano-allodynia induced in the area adjacent to the area innervated by the injured nerve.


2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 1891-1901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily A. Keshner

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative contributions of inputs from the vestibular system and the trunk to head-trunk coordination. Twelve healthy adults and 6 adults with diminished bilateral labyrinthine input (LD) were seated with their trunk either fixed to the seat or free to move. Subjects received 10-cm, 445-cm/s2 anterior-posterior ramps and 0.35- to 4.05-Hz sum-of-sines translations while performing a mental distraction task in the dark. Kinematics of the head and trunk were derived from an Optotrak motion analysis system and a linear accelerometer placed on the head. EMG signals were collected from neck and paraspinal muscles. Data were tested for significance with multivariate ANOVA (MANOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc analyses. Initial linear and angular head acceleration directions differed in healthy subjects when the trunk was fixed or free, but did not differ in LD subjects. Peak head angular accelerations were significantly greater with the trunk fixed than when free, and were greater in LD than in control subjects. EMG response latencies did not differ when the trunk was fixed or free. Low-frequency phase responses in the healthy subjects were close to 90° and had a delayed descent as frequency increased, suggesting some neural compensation that was absent in the LD subjects. Results of this study revealed a strong initial reliance on system mechanics and on signals from segmental receptors. The vestibular system may act to damp later response components and to monitor the position of the head in space secondary to feedback from segmental proprioceptors rather than to generate the postural reactions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miseon Kang ◽  
Jihyun Noh ◽  
Jun-mo Chung

Abstract Abnormally increased neuronal activity in the lateral habenula (LHb) is closely associated with depressive-like behavior. Despite the emphasis on the pathological importance of NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-dependent long-term depression (LTD) and the involvement of calcium permeable AMPA receptor (CP-AMPAR) as major Ca2+ source, the functions of NMDAR and CP-AMPAR on LTD modulation in the LHb still have not been fully investigated. Here, we found that NMDAR-dependent LTD by low frequency stimulation was induced in both synaptic and extrasynaptic regions in the LHb. In addition, CP-AMPAR was necessary for the activation of NMDAR in the induction phase of NMDAR-dependent LTD. The acute stress, which induced depressive behavior, had a blocked effect on synaptic NMDAR-dependent LTD but left extrasynaptic NMDAR-dependent LTD intact. These findings show that NMDAR-dependent LTD in LHb plays an important role in regulating neuronal activity, which is probable to be excessively increased by repeated stress, via maintaining homeostasis in both synaptic and extrasynaptic regions of the LHb. Moreover, NMDAR and CP-AMPAR may serve as a depression-related modulator and be regarded as a promising therapeutic target for treatment of psychopathology such as depression.


2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
David L. Platus

Researchers at Georgetown University's Department of Physiology and Biophysics use negative-stiffness vibration isolators to help measure micron-level patterns of neuronal activity in the mammalian neocortex. The research is shedding new light into brain sensory and motor processing functions relating to cardiac fibrillation and epilepsy.Isolating a laboratory's sensitive microscopy equipment against low-frequency vibration has become increasingly more vital to maintaining imaging quality and data integrity for neurobiology researches. Ever more frequently, laboratory researchers are discovering that conventional air tables and the more recent active (electronic) vibration isolation systems are not able to adequately cancel out the lower frequency perturbations derived from air conditioning systems, outside vehicular movements and ambulatory personnel. Such was the case with the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Georgetown University Medical Center, where Professor Jian-Young Wu has been conducting research on waves of neuronal activity in the neocortex of the brain.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 507-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Bergman ◽  
T. Wichmann ◽  
B. Karmon ◽  
M. R. DeLong

1. The neuronal mechanisms underlying the major motor signs of Parkinson's disease were studied in the basal ganglia of parkinsonian monkeys. Three African green monkeys were systemically treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) until parkinsonian signs, including akinesia, rigidity, and a prominent 4- to 8-Hz tremor, appeared. The activity of neurons in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and in the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) was recorded before (STN, n = 220 cells; GPi, n = 175 cells) and after MPTP treatment (STN, n = 326 cells; GPi, n = 154 cells). 2. In STN the spontaneous firing rate was significantly increased from 19 +/- 10 (SD) spikes/s before to 26 +/- 15 spikes/s after MPTP treatment. Division of STN neurons recorded after MPTP treatment into cells with rhythmic bursts of discharge occurring at 4–8 Hz (as defined by autocorrelation analysis) and neurons without 4- to 8-Hz periodic activity revealed an even more prominent increase in the firing rate of the 4- to 8-Hz oscillatory neurons. 3. In GPi overall changes in the average firing rate of cells were inconsistent between different animals and behavioral states. However, the average firing rate of the subpopulation of neurons with 4- to 8-Hz periodic oscillatory activity after treatment with MPTP was significantly increased over that of all neurons before MPTP treatment (from 53 to 76 spikes/s, averaged across monkeys). 4. In the normal state the percentage of neurons with burst discharges (as defined by autocorrelation analysis) was 69% and 78% in STN and GPi, respectively. After MPTP treatment the percentage of cells that discharged in bursts was increased to 79% and 89%, respectively. At the same time the average burst duration decreased (from 121 +/- 98 to 81 +/- 99 ms in STN and from 213 +/- 120 to 146 +/- 134 ms in GPi) with no significant change in the average number of spikes per burst. 5. Periodic oscillatory neuronal activity at low frequency, highly correlated with tremor, was detected in a large number of cells in STN and GPi after MPTP treatment (average oscillation frequency 6.0 and 5.1 Hz, respectively). The autocorrelograms of spike trains of these neurons confirm that the periodic oscillatory activity was very stable. The percentage of cells with 4- to 8-Hz periodic activity significantly increased from 2% to 16% in STN and from 0.6% to 25% in GPi with the MPTP treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document