scholarly journals Concepts and Physiological Aspects of the Otolith Organ in Relation to Electrical Stimulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (Suppl. 1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian S. Curthoys
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Semicircular Canal ◽  
Vestibular Nucleus ◽  
Angular Acceleration ◽  
Linear Acceleration ◽  
Afferent Input ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Otolith Organs ◽  
The One ◽  
Stimulation Of

Background: This paper discusses some of the concepts and major physiological issues in developing a means of electrically stimulating the otolithic system, with the final goal being the electrical stimulation of the otoliths in human patients. It contrasts the challenges of electrical stimulation of the otolith organs as compared to stimulation of the semicircular canals. Electrical stimulation may consist of trains of short-duration pulses (e.g., 0.1 ms duration at 400 Hz) by selective electrodes on otolith maculae or otolithic afferents, or unselective maintained DC stimulation by large surface electrodes on the mastoids – surface galvanic stimulation. Summary: Recent anatomical and physiological results are summarized in order to introduce some of the unique issues in electrical stimulation of the otoliths. The first challenge is that each otolithic macula contains receptors with opposite polarization (opposing preferred directions of stimulation), unlike the uniform polarization of receptors in each semicircular canal crista. The puzzle is that in response to the one linear acceleration in the one macula, some otolithic afferents have an increased activation whereas others have decreased activation. Key Messages: At the vestibular nucleus this opposite receptor hair cell polarization and consequent opposite afferent input allow enhanced response to the one linear acceleration, via a “push-pull” neural mechanism in a manner analogous to the enhancement of semicircular canal responses to angular acceleration. Within each otolithic macula there is not just one uniform otolithic neural input to the brain – there are very distinctly different channels of otolithic neural inputs transferring the neural data to the brainstem. As a simplification these channels are characterized as the sustained and transient systems. Afferents in each system have different responses to stimulus onset and maintained stimulation and likely different projections, and most importantly different thresholds for activation by electrical stimulation and different adaptation rates to maintained stimulation. The implications of these differences are considered.

Patterns of Canal and Otolith Afferent Input Convergence in Frog Second-Order Vestibular Neurons

2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 2287-2301 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Straka ◽  
S. Holler ◽  
F. Goto
Keyword(s):  
Semicircular Canal ◽  
Linear Acceleration ◽  
Afferent Input ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Otolith Organs ◽  
Otolith Organ ◽  
Horizontal Canal ◽  
Vestibular Neurons ◽  
Saccular Nerve

Second-order vestibular neurons (2°VN) were identified in the isolated frog brain by the presence of monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) after separate electrical stimulation of individual vestibular nerve branches. Combinations of one macular and the three semicircular canal nerve branches or combinations of two macular nerve branches were stimulated separately in different sets of experiments. Monosynaptic EPSPs evoked from the utricle or from the lagena converged with monosynaptic EPSPs from one of the three semicircular canal organs in ∼30% of 2°VN. Utricular afferent signals converged predominantly with horizontal canal afferent signals (74%), and lagenar afferent signals converged with anterior vertical (63%) or posterior vertical (37%) but not with horizontal canal afferent signals. This convergence pattern correlates with the coactivation of particular combinations of canal and otolith organs during natural head movements. A convergence of afferent saccular and canal signals was restricted to very few 2°VN (3%). In contrast to the considerable number of 2°VN that received an afferent input from the utricle or the lagena as well as from one of the three canal nerves (∼30%), smaller numbers of 2°VN (14% of each type of 2°otolith or 2°canal neuron) received an afferent input from only one particular otolith organ or from only one particular semicircular canal organ. Even fewer 2°VN received an afferent input from more than one semicircular canal or from more than one otolith nerve (∼7% each). Among 2°VN with afferent inputs from more than one otolith nerve, an afferent saccular nerve input was particularly rare (4–5%). The restricted convergence of afferent saccular inputs with other afferent otolith or canal inputs as well as the termination pattern of saccular afferent fibers are compatible with a substrate vibration sensitivity of this otolith organ in frog. The ascending and/or descending projections of identified 2°VN were determined by the presence of antidromic spikes. 2°VN mediating afferent utricular and/or semicircular canal nerve signals had ascending and/or descending axons. 2°VN mediating afferent lagenar or saccular nerve signals had descending but no ascending axons. The latter result is consistent with the absence of short-latency macular signals on extraocular motoneurons during vertical linear acceleration. Comparison of data from frog and cat demonstrated the presence of a similar organization pattern of maculo- and canal-ocular reflexes in both species.

scholarly journals Convergence of linear acceleration and yaw rotation signals on non-eye movement neurons in the vestibular nucleus of macaques

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn D. Newlands ◽  
Ben Abbatematteo ◽  
Min Wei ◽  
Laurel H. Carney ◽  
Hongge Luan
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Vestibular Nucleus ◽  
Semicircular Canals ◽  
Linear Acceleration ◽  
Vestibular Nuclei ◽  
Otolith Organs ◽  
Angular Rotation ◽  
Sensory Signals ◽  
Nonlinear Integration

Roughly half of all vestibular nucleus neurons without eye movement sensitivity respond to both angular rotation and linear acceleration. Linear acceleration signals arise from otolith organs, and rotation signals arise from semicircular canals. In the vestibular nerve, these signals are carried by different afferents. Vestibular nucleus neurons represent the first point of convergence for these distinct sensory signals. This study systematically evaluated how rotational and translational signals interact in single neurons in the vestibular nuclei: multisensory integration at the first opportunity for convergence between these two independent vestibular sensory signals. Single-unit recordings were made from the vestibular nuclei of awake macaques during yaw rotation, translation in the horizontal plane, and combinations of rotation and translation at different frequencies. The overall response magnitude of the combined translation and rotation was generally less than the sum of the magnitudes in responses to the stimuli applied independently. However, we found that under conditions in which the peaks of the rotational and translational responses were coincident these signals were approximately additive. With presentation of rotation and translation at different frequencies, rotation was attenuated more than translation, regardless of which was at a higher frequency. These data suggest a nonlinear interaction between these two sensory modalities in the vestibular nuclei, in which coincident peak responses are proportionally stronger than other, off-peak interactions. These results are similar to those reported for other forms of multisensory integration, such as audio-visual integration in the superior colliculus. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to systematically explore the interaction of rotational and translational signals in the vestibular nuclei through independent manipulation. The results of this study demonstrate nonlinear integration leading to maximum response amplitude when the timing and direction of peak rotational and translational responses are coincident.

scholarly journals Canal-Specific Excitation and Inhibition of Frog Second-Order Vestibular Neurons

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 1363-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Straka ◽  
S. Biesdorf ◽  
N. Dieringer
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Semicircular Canal ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Postsynaptic Potentials ◽  
Vestibular Neurons ◽  
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials ◽  
Monosynaptic Epsp ◽  
Stimulation Of ◽  
Monosynaptic Excitation

Straka, H., S. Biesdorf, and N. Dieringer. Canal-specific excitation and inhibition of frog second-order vestibular neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1363–1372, 1997. Second-order vestibular neurons (2°VNs) were identified in the in vitro frog brain by their monosynaptic excitation following electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral VIIIth nerve. Ipsilateral disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials were revealed by bath application of the glycine antagonist strychnine or of the γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) antagonist bicuculline. Ipsilateral disynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were analyzed as well. The functional organization of convergent monosynaptic and disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory inputs onto 2°VNs was studied by separate electrical stimulation of individual semicircular canal nerves on the ipsilateral side. Most 2°VNs (88%) received a monosynaptic EPSP exclusively from one of the three semicircular canal nerves; fewer 2°VNs (10%) were monosynaptically excited from two semicircular canal nerves; and even fewer 2°VNs (2%) were monosynaptically excited from each of the three semicircular canal nerves. Disynaptic EPSPs were present in the majority of 2°VNs (68%) and originated from the same (homonymous) semicircular canal nerve that activated a monosynaptic EPSP in a given neuron (22%), from one or both of the other two (heteronymous) canal nerves (18%), or from all three canal nerves (28%). Homonymous activation of disynaptic EPSPs prevailed (74%) among those 2°VNs that exhibited disynaptic EPSPs. Disynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) were mediated in 90% of the tested 2°VNs by glycine, in 76% by GABA, and in 62% by GABA as well as by glycine. These IPSPs were activated almost exclusively from the same semicircular canal nerve that evoked the monosynaptic EPSP in a given 2°VN. Our results demonstrate a canal-specific, modular organization of vestibular nerve afferent fiber inputs onto 2°VNs that consists of a monosynaptic excitation from one semicircular canal nerve followed by disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory inputs originating from the homonymous canal nerve. Excitatory and inhibitory second-order (2°) vestibular interneurons are envisaged to form side loops that mediate spatially similar but dynamically different signals to 2° vestibular projection neurons. These feedforward side loops are suited to adjust the dynamic response properties of 2° vestibular projection neurons by facilitating or disfacilitating phasic and tonic input components.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal properties of eye movements produced by electrical stimulation of semicircular canal afferents

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 1511-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F. Lewis ◽  
Csilla Haburcakova ◽  
Wangsong Gong ◽  
Faisal Karmali ◽  
Daniel M. Merfeld
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Semicircular Canal ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Velocity Storage ◽  
Rotational Axis ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Normal Manner ◽  
Semicircular Canal Afferents ◽  
Stimulation Of

To investigate the characteristics of eye movements produced by electrical stimulation of semicircular canal afferents, we studied the spatial and temporal features of eye movements elicited by short-term lateral canal stimulation in two squirrel monkeys with plugged lateral canals, with the head upright or statically tilted in the roll plane. The electrically induced vestibuloocular reflex (eVOR) evoked with the head upright decayed more quickly than the stimulation signal provided by the electrode, demonstrating an absence of the classic velocity storage effect that improves the dynamics of the low-frequency VOR. When stimulation was provided with the head tilted in roll, however, the eVOR decayed more rapidly than when the head was upright, and a cross-coupled vertical response developed that shifted the eye's rotational axis toward alignment with gravity. These results demonstrate that rotational information provided by electrical stimulation of canal afferents interacts with otolith inputs (or other graviceptive cues) in a qualitatively normal manner, a process that is thought to be mediated by the velocity storage network. The observed interaction between the eVOR and graviceptive cues is of critical importance for the development of a functionally useful vestibular prosthesis. Furthermore, the presence of gravity-dependent effects (dumping, spatial orientation) despite an absence of low-frequency augmentation of the eVOR has not been previously described in any experimental preparation.

scholarly journals Pulsed Infrared Stimulation of Vertical Semicircular Canals Evokes Cardiovascular Changes in the Rat

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrian Rice ◽  
Giorgio P. Martinelli ◽  
Weitao Jiang ◽  
Gay R. Holstein ◽  
Suhrud M. Rajguru
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Semicircular Canal ◽  
Parasympathetic Nervous System ◽  
Semicircular Canals ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Experimental Session ◽  
Otolith Organs ◽  
Vertical Semicircular Canals ◽  
Stimulation Of

A variety of stimuli activating vestibular end organs, including sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation, whole body rotation and tilt, and head flexion have been shown to evoke significant changes in blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). While a role for the vertical semicircular canals in altering autonomic activity has been hypothesized, studies to-date attribute the evoked BP and HR responses to the otolith organs. The present study determined whether unilateral activation of the posterior (PC) or anterior (AC) semicircular canal is sufficient to elicit changes in BP and/or HR. The study employed frequency-modulated pulsed infrared radiation (IR: 1,863 nm) directed via optical fibers to PC or AC of adult male Long-Evans rats. BP and HR changes were detected using a small-animal single pressure telemetry device implanted in the femoral artery. Eye movements evoked during IR of the vestibular endorgans were used to confirm the stimulation site. We found that sinusoidal IR delivered to either PC or AC elicited a rapid decrease in BP and HR followed by a stimulation frequency-matched modulation. The magnitude of the initial decrements in HR and BP did not correlate with the energy of the suprathreshold stimulus. This response pattern was consistent across multiple trials within an experimental session, replicable, and in most animals showed no evidence of habituation or an additive effect. Frequency modulated electrical current delivered to the PC and IR stimulation of the AC, caused decrements in HR and BP that resembled those evoked by IR of the PC. Frequency domain heart rate variability assessment revealed that, in most subjects, IR stimulation increased the low frequency (LF) component and decreased the high frequency (HF) component, resulting in an increase in the LF/HF ratio. This ratio estimates the relative contributions of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activities. An injection of atropine, a muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist, diminished the IR evoked changes in HR, while the non-selective beta blocker propranolol eliminated changes in both HR and BP. This study provides direct evidence that activation of a single vertical semicircular canal is sufficient to activate and modulate central pathways that control HR and BP.

Spinoreticular neurons that receive group III input are inhibited by MLR stimulation

2002 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandr M. Degtyarenko ◽  
Marc P. Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Tibial Nerve ◽  
Afferent Input ◽  
Ventrolateral Medulla ◽  
Central Command ◽  
Mesencephalic Locomotor Region ◽  
Group Iii ◽  
Tibial Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Afferent ◽  
Stimulation Of

In decerebrate paralyzed cats, we examined the responses of 18 spinoreticular neurons to electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic locomotor region. The activity of each of the spinoreticular neurons was recorded extracellularly from laminae IV through VI of the L7 and S1 spinal cord. In addition, each of the 18 spinoreticular neurons received group III afferent input from the tibial nerve. Spinoreticular projections were established for each of 18 neurons by antidromic invasion of the ventro lateral medulla at the P11 though P14 levels. The onset latencies and current thresholds for antidromic invasion from the ventro lateral medulla averaged 15.0 ± 3.8 ms and 117 ± 11 μA, respectively. Electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic locomotor region attenuated the spontaneous activity or the responses of each of the spinoreticular neurons to tibial nerve stimulation at currents that recruited group III afferents. Our data support the notion that thin-fiber muscle afferent input to the ventrolateral medulla is gated by a central command to exercise.

Contraction-induced excitation in cat peroneal motoneurons

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 974-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Kouchtir ◽  
J. F. Perrier ◽  
D. Zytnicki ◽  
L. Jami
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Distal Portion ◽  
Afferent Input ◽  
Ventral Root ◽  
Triceps Surae ◽  
Group I ◽  
Peroneus Brevis ◽  
Repetitive Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Tendon Organ ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Motoneurons innervating peroneal muscles were recorded intracellularly in anesthetized cats during sustained submaximal isometric contractions of peroneus brevis produced by repetitive electrical stimulation of motor axons in the distal portion of cut ventral root filaments. 2. In contrast with the inhibition previously observed during contractions of gastrocnemius medialis muscle in triceps surae motoneurons, the afferent input generated by peroneus brevis contraction elicited excitatory potentials in nearly all motoneurons supplying peroneus brevis, peroneus tertius, or peroneus longus muscles. 3. We ascribed the contraction-induced excitation of peroneal motoneurons to spindle afferents for two reasons. First, the amplitude of contraction-induced excitatory potentials increased when the ventral root stimulation strength was increased to recruit gamma-axons. Second, with stimulation strengths under gamma-threshold, peroneus brevis contraction still excited peroneal motoneurons, and we obtained evidence that activation of spindles by skeletofusimotor beta-axons could account at least partly for this excitation. 4. The lack of contraction-induced inhibition in peroneal motoneurons and the prevalence of contraction-induced excitation raised the possibility that, in contrast to the usual effects of tendon organ afferents, Ib afferents from peroneus brevis might exert an excitatory influence on homonymous motoneurons. The fact that electrical stimulation of group I afferents in the nerve to peroneus brevis only exceptionally evoked inhibition in peroneal motoneurons would appear compatible with this hypothesis. Furthermore, stimulation of cutaneous afferents, known to facilitate transmission in Ib pathways, only exceptionally revealed a weak contraction-induced inhibition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Segmental organization of visceral and somatic input onto C3-T6 spinothalamic tract cells of the monkey

1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1575-1588 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. F. Hobbs ◽  
M. J. Chandler ◽  
D. C. Bolser ◽  
R. D. Foreman
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Visceral Pain ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Afferent Input ◽  
Spinothalamic Tract ◽  
Afferent Fibers ◽  
Increased Activity ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Referred pain of visceral origin has three major characteristics: visceral pain is referred to somatic areas that are innervated from the same spinal segments as the diseased organ; visceral pain is referred to proximal body regions and not to distal body areas; and visceral pain is felt as deep pain and not as cutaneous pain. The neurophysiological basis for these phenomena is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the organization of viscerosomatic response characteristics of spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons in the rostral spinal cord. Interactions were determined among the following: 1) segmental location, 2) effects of input by cardiopulmonary sympathetic, greater splanchnic, lumbar sympathetic, and urinary bladder afferent fibers, 3) location of excitatory somatic field, e.g., hand, forearm, proximal arm, or chest, 4) magnitude of response to hair, skin, and deep mechanoreceptor afferent input, and 5) regional specificity of thalamic projection sites. 2. A total of 89 STT neurons in segments C3-T6 were characterized for responses to visceral and somatic stimuli. Neurons were activated antidromically from the contralateral ventroposterolateral oralis or caudalis nuclei of the thalamus. Cell responses to visceral and somatic stimuli were not different on the basis of the thalamic site of antidromic activation. Recording sites for 61 neurons were located histologically; 87% of lesion sites were located in laminae IV-VII or X. There was no relationship between response properties of the neurons and spinal laminar location. 3. Different responses to visceral stimuli were observed in three zones of the rostral spinal cord: C3-C6, C7-C8, and T1-T6. In C3-C6, urinary bladder distension (UBD) and electrical stimulation of greater splanchnic and lumbar sympathetic afferent fibers inhibited STT cells. Electrical stimulation of cardiopulmonary sympathetic afferents increased cell activity in C5 and C6 and either excited or inhibited STT cells in C3 and C4. In the cervical enlargement (C7-C8), STT cells generally were either inhibited or showed little response to stimulation of visceral afferent fibers. In T1-T6, input from greater splanchnic and cardiopulmonary sympathetic afferent nerves increased activity of STT cells. Lumbar sympathetic afferent input inhibited cells in T1-T2 and had little effect on cells in T3-T6, whereas UBD decreased cell activity in all segments studied. 4. In general, stimulation of somatic structures increased activity of STT neurons in segments that received primary afferent innervation from the excitatory somatic receptive field or in the segments immediately adjacent to these segments. Only input from the forelimb, especially the hand, markedly excited cells in C7 and C8.+

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