Brain stem pathways for vestibular projections to cerebral cortex in the cat

Abstract The rostral projections of the vestibular system were investigated in cats by applying electrical stimulation separately to the vestibular and cochlear nerves while recording from the medial geniculate body and the anterior suprasylvian region of the cerebral cortex. Complete ablation of the cerebellum and transection of the medial longitudinal fasciculus did not alter the evoked responses. Unilateral lesions in the brain stem medial to the lateral lemniscus diminished and bilateral lesions abolished the responses to vestibular stimulation in the medial geniculate body and the anterior suprasylvian region. The responses to cochlear stimulation were preserved. We conclude that vestibular projections to the thalamus and cerebral cortex travel medial to the lateral lemniscus, coursing in parallel to the ascending auditory pathway but at least partially separate from it.

[1]  Lloyd P. Gray,et al.  Some experimental evidence on the connections of the vestibular mechanism in the cat , 1926 .

[2]  M. Carpenter,et al.  The medial longitudinal fasciculus and disturbances of conjugate horizontal eye movements in the monkey , 1965, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[3]  E. Spiegel.  THE CORTICAL CENTERS OF THE LABYRINTH , 1932 .

[4]  N. Boisacq-Schepens,et al.  Responses of motor cortex cells to tilt in the ‘encéphale isolé’ cat , 1975, Brain Research.

[5]  L. Aronson.  THE CONDUCTION OF LABYRINTHINE IMPULSES TO THE CORTEX , 1933 .

[6]  R. Snider,et al.  Projections of vestibular areas of cerebellum to the cerebrum , 1956, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[7]  E. Spiegel,et al.  VESTIBULOCEREBRAL PATHWAYS: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CENTRAL MECHANISM OF VERTIGO , 1937 .

[8]  L. Deecke,et al.  The vestibular thalamus in the rhesus monkey. , 1973, Advances in oto-rhino-laryngology.

[9]  Michel A. Gerebtzoff,et al.  Recherches sur la projection corticale du labyrinthe: I. Des effets de la stimulation labyrinthique sur l'activité électrique de l'écorce cérébrale , 1940 .

[10]  J. Raymond,et al.  A vestibulothalamic pathway: Electrophysiological demonstration in the cat by localized cooling , 1976, Journal of neuroscience research.

[11]  A. Brodal,et al.  SITE AND MODE OF TERMINATION OF PRIMARY VESTIBULOCEREBELLAR FIBRES IN THE CAT. AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH SILVER IMPREGNATION METHODS. , 1964, Archives italiennes de biologie.

[12]  Cortical projection of the medial and spinal vestibular nuclei in the cat , 1960 .

[13]  M. Sanders.  Handbook of Sensory Physiology , 1975 .

[14]  S. Landgren,et al.  Somato‐sensory paths to the second cortical projection area of the group I muscle afferents , 1967, The Journal of physiology.

[15]  E. G. Szekely,et al.  VESTIBULAR RESPONSES IN MIDBRAIN, THALAMUS, AND BASAL GANGLIA. , 1965, Archives of neurology.

[16]  S. Gilman,et al.  Vestibular input to the caudate nucleus. , 1971, Experimental neurology.

[17]  S. Andersson,et al.  Cortical projection of vestibular nerve in cat. , 1954, Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum.

[18]  E. Tarlov.  The rostral projections of the primate vestibular nuclei: An experimental study in macaque, baboon and chimpanzee , 1969, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[19]  E. Spiegel.  LABYRINTH AND CORTEX: THE ELECTRENCEPHALOGRAM OF THE CORTEX IN STIMULATION OF THE LABYRINTH , 1934 .

[20]  H. Ades,et al.  Rostral projection pathway of the vestibular system. , 1954, The American journal of physiology.

[21]  A. Brodal.  Anatomy of the vestibuloreticular connections and possible 'ascending' vestibular pathways from the reticular formation. , 1972, Progress in brain research.

[22]  J. M. Fredrickson,et al.  Cortical Projections of the Vestibular Nerve , 1974 .

[23]  J. Hood.  Basic aspects of central vestibular mechanisms , 1973 .

[24]  J. Raymond,et al.  [Thalamic and cortical responses to electric stimulation of the vestibular nerve in the cat]. , 1970, Experimental brain research.

[25]  S. Landgren,et al.  Vestibular, cochlear and trigeminal projections to the cortex in the anterior suprasylvian sulcus of the cat , 1967, The Journal of physiology.

[26]  B. Gernandt,et al.  Midbrain activity in response to vestibular stimulation. , 1950, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[27]  W. Kempinsky.  Cortical projection of vestibular and facial nerves in cat. , 1951, Journal of neurophysiology.