On the generation of vertical and torsional rapid eye movements in the monkey

SummaryThe role of the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF) in generating the vertical and torsional components of rapid eye movements was examined. The on-directions of burst neurons in the riMLF of alert Rhesus monkeys were obtained during quick phase nystagmus in three dimensions. The distinguishing feature of these burst neurons was the torsional component of their on-directions; neurons on the right side exhibited a clockwise component, from the point of view of the subject, while those on the left had a counterclockwise component. Vertical components could have up or down directions. This organization was verified by means of unilateral reversible inactivation of the riMLF using Muscimol. An injection in the right riMLF impaired the generation of quick phases with clockwise components while one on the left impaired counterclockwise components.

[1]  F. Chain,et al.  Parinaud's syndrome: electro-oculographic and anatomical analyses of six vascular cases with deductions about vertical gaze organization in the premotor structures. , 1982, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[2]  J. Büttner-Ennever,et al.  A cell group associated with vertical eye movements in the rostral mesencephalic reticular formation of the monkey , 1978, Brain Research.

[3]  Jones Gm.  Interactions between optokinetic and vestibulo-ocular responses during head rotation in various planes. , 1966 .

[4]  H. Reisine,et al.  Experimental gaze palsies in monkeys and their relation to human pathology. , 1984, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[5]  V. Henn,et al.  Vertical eye movement related unit activity in the rostral mesencephalic reticular formation of the alert monkey , 1977, Brain Research.

[6]  J. Büttner-Ennever,et al.  Oculomotor nucleus afferents in the monkey demonstrated with horseradish peroxidase , 1979, Brain Research.

[7]  Ian S. Curthoys,et al.  Planar relationships of the semicircular canals in rhesus and squirrel monkeys , 1985, Brain Research.

[8]  M. B. Bender,et al.  Downward gaze in monkeys: stimulation and lesion studies. , 1979, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[9]  N. Christoff.  A clinicopathologic study of vertical eye movements. , 1974, Archives of neurology.

[10]  A. Fuchs,et al.  Reticular control of vertical saccadic eye movements by mesencephalic burst neurons. , 1979, Journal of neurophysiology.

[11]  H. Collewijn,et al.  Human ocular counterroll: assessment of static and dynamic properties from electromagnetic scleral coil recordings , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[12]  V. Henn.  Loss of vertical rapid eye movements after kainic acid lesions in the rostral mesencephalon in the rhesus monkey , 1983 .

[13]  A. Fuchs,et al.  Vertical eye movement-related responses of neurons in midbrain near intestinal nucleus of Cajal. , 1981, Journal of neurophysiology.

[14]  D. Robinson,et al.  A METHOD OF MEASURING EYE MOVEMENT USING A SCLERAL SEARCH COIL IN A MAGNETIC FIELD. , 1963, IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering.

[15]  T Vilis,et al.  Brainstem regions related to saccade generation. , 1989, Reviews of oculomotor research.

[16]  R. Wurtz,et al.  Modification of saccadic eye movements by GABA-related substances. II. Effects of muscimol in monkey substantia nigra pars reticulata. , 1985, Journal of neurophysiology.

[17]  R. Baloh,et al.  The sleep-wake transition in the oculomotor system , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[18]  K. Hepp,et al.  Spatio-temporal recoding of rapid eye movement signals in the monkey paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF) , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[19]  S. Nakao,et al.  Excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs from the medial mesodiencephalic junction to vertical eye movement-related motoneurons in the cat oculomotor nucleus , 1983, Neuroscience Letters.

[20]  B. Cohen,et al.  Coding of information about rapid eye movements in the pontine reticular formation of alert monkeys , 1976, Brain Research.

[21]  S. Gielen,et al.  A quantitative analysis of generation of saccadic eye movements by burst neurons. , 1981, Journal of neurophysiology.

[22]  S. Highstein,et al.  Anatomy and physiology of saccadic burst neurons in the alert squirrel monkey. I. Excitatory burst neurons , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[23]  B. Cohen,et al.  Vertical glaze paralysis and the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus. , 1982, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[24]  S. Highstein,et al.  Anatomy and physiology of saccadic burst neurons in the alert squirrel monkey. I. Excitatory burst neurons. , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.