Response properties of diencephalic neurons to visual, acoustic and hydrodynamic stimulation in the goldfish, Carassius auratus.

We studied the responses to sensory stimulation of three diencephalic areas, the central posterior nucleus of the dorsal thalamus, the anterior tuberal nucleus of the hypothalamus, and the preglomerular complex. Units sensitive to acoustic (500 Hz tone burst), hydrodynamic (25 Hz dipole stimulus) and visual (640 nm light flash) stimuli were found in both the central posterior and anterior tuberal nucleus. In contrast, unit responses or large robust evoked potentials confined to the preglomerular complex were not found. In the central posterior nucleus, most units were unimodal. Many units responded exclusively to visual stimulation and exhibited a variety of temporal response patterns to light stimuli. In the anterior tuberal nucleus of the hypothalamus, most units responded to more than one modality and showed a stronger response decrement to stimulus repetitions than units in the central posterior nucleus. Our data suggest that units in the central posterior nucleus are primarily involved in the unimodal processing of sensory information whereas units in the anterior tuberal nucleus of the hypothalamus may be involved in multisensory integration.

[1]  G. Striedter.  The diencephalon of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. I. Nuclear organization. , 1990, Brain, behavior and evolution.

[2]  Hironobu Ito,et al.  Thalamic fiber connections in a teleost (Sebastiscus marmoratus): Visual somatosensory, octavolateral, and cerebellar relay region to the telencephalon , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[3]  H. Bleckmann,et al.  The lateral line mechanoreceptive mesencephalic, diencephalic, and telencephalic regions in the thornback ray,Platyrhinoidis triseriata (Elasmobranchii) , 1987, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[4]  W. Saidel,et al.  Forebrain connections in the goldfish support telencephalic homologies with land vertebrates. , 1981, Science.

[5]  Hironobu Ito,et al.  Telencephalic ascending acousticolateral system in a teleost (sebastiscus marmoratus), with special reference to the fiber connections of the nucleus preglomerulosus , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[6]  F. Golla.  The Central Nervous System , 1960, Nature.

[7]  S. Echteler.  Connections of the auditory midbrain in a teleost fish, Cyprinus carpio , 1984, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[8]  G. Striedter.  The diencephalon of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. II. Retinal, tectal, cerebellar and telencephalic connections. , 1990, Brain, behavior and evolution.

[9]  Ad. J. Kalmijn,et al.  Hydrodynamic and Acoustic Field Detection , 1988 .

[10]  C. Wong.  Connections of the basal forebrain of the weakly electric fish, Eigenmannia virescens , 1997, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[11]  R. Northcutt,et al.  Retinofugal and retinopetal projections in the green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus. , 1991, Brain, Behavior and Evolution.

[12]  G. Striedter.  Phylogenetic changes in the connections of the lateral preglomerular nucleus in ostariophysan teleosts: a pluralistic view of brain evolution. , 1992, Brain, behavior and evolution.

[13]  P. Brodal.  The Central Nervous System , 1992 .

[14]  G. Zupanc.  The preglomerular nucleus of gymnotiform fish: relay station for conveying information between telencephalon and diencephalon , 1997, Brain Research.

[15]  Hironobu Ito,et al.  Telencephalic afferent nuclei in the Carp diencephalon, with special reference to fiber connections of the nucleus preglomerulosus pars lateralis , 1986, Brain Research.

[16]  Northcutt Rg,et al.  Retinofugal and retinopetal projections in the green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus. , 1991 .

[17]  Hironobu Ito,et al.  Telencephalic afferent neurons identified by the retrograde HRP method in the carp diencephalon , 1978, Brain Research.

[18]  H. Münz,et al.  Functional Organization of the Lateral Line Periphery , 1989 .

[19]  Stephen M. Echteler,et al.  Organization of central auditory pathways in a teleost fish,Cyprinus carpio , 1985, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[20]  S. Ebbesson.  A visual thalamo-telencephalic pathway in a teleost fish (Holocentrus rufus) , 2004, Cell and Tissue Research.

[21]  T. Finger.  Nonolfactory sensory pathway to the telencephalon in a teleost fish. , 1980, Science.

[22]  T. Bullock,et al.  Thalamic center for the lateral line system in the catfish Ictalurus nebulosus: evoked potential evidence. , 1982, Journal of neurobiology.

[23]  G. Striedter,et al.  Auditory, electrosensory, and mechanosensory lateral line pathways through the forebrain in channel catfishes , 1991, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[24]  R. Fay,et al.  Acoustic response properties of single neurons in the central posterior nucleus of the thalamus of the goldfish, Carassius auratus , 1995, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[25]  D. M. Schroeder,et al.  Connections of the Nurse Shark's Telencephalon , 1971, Science.

[26]  Bruce Oakley,et al.  Experimental neurobiology : a laboratory manual , 1978 .