Gaze-Related Response Properties of DLPN and NRTP Neurons in the Rhesus Macaque

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 2484-2500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Ono ◽  
Vallabh E. Das ◽  
Michael J. Mustari
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Pontine Nucleus ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Ocular Reflex ◽  
Visual Inputs ◽  
Vestibular Ocular Reflex ◽  
Vestibular Testing ◽  
Linear Regression Modeling

The dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) and nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) are basilar pontine nuclei important for control of eye movements. The aim of this study was to compare the response properties of neurons in DLPN and rostral NRTP (rNRTP) during visual, oculomotor, and vestibular testing. We tested 51 DLPN neurons that were modulated during smooth pursuit (23/51) or during motion of a large-field visual stimulus (28/51). Following vestibular testing, we found that the majority of smooth pursuit–related neurons in DLPN were best classified as gaze (13/23) or eye velocity (7/23) related. Only a small percentage (3/51) of DLPN neurons responded during vestibular ocular reflex in the dark (VORd). We tested rNRTP neurons as described above and found the majority of neurons (35/43) were modulated during smooth pursuit or during motion of a large-field stimulus only (4/43). A significant proportion of our rNRTP gaze velocity neurons (10/18) were also modulated during VORd. We found that the majority of smooth pursuit related neurons in rNRTP were best classified as gaze velocity (18/35) or gaze acceleration (11/35) sensitive. The remaining neurons were classified as eye position or eye/head related. We used multiple linear-regression modeling to determine the relative contributions of eye, head and visual inputs to the responses of DLPN and rNRTP neurons. Our results support the suggestion that both DLPN and rNRTP play significant roles not only in control of smooth pursuit but also in control of gaze.

Premorbid migraine history as a risk factor for vestibular and oculomotor baseline concussion assessment in pediatric athletes

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan N. Moran ◽  
Tracey Covassin ◽  
Jessica Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Migraine Headache ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Motion Sensitivity ◽  
Ocular Reflex ◽  
Migraine Headaches ◽  
Vestibular Ocular Reflex ◽  
History Of

OBJECTIVEMigraine history has recently been identified as a risk factor for concussion and recovery. The authors performed a cross-sectional study examining baseline outcome measures on newly developed and implemented concussion assessment tools in pediatrics. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of premorbid, diagnosed migraine headaches as a risk factor on vestibular and oculomotor baseline assessment in pediatric athletes.METHODSPediatric athletes between the ages of 8 and 14 years with a diagnosed history of migraine headache (n = 28) and matched controls without a history of diagnosed migraine headache (n = 28) were administered a baseline concussion assessment battery, consisting of the Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS), near point of convergence (NPC), and the King-Devick (K-D) tests. Between-groups comparisons were performed for vestibular symptoms and provocation scores on the VOMS (smooth pursuit, saccades, convergence, vestibular/ocular reflex, visual motion sensitivity), NPC (average distance), and K-D (time).RESULTSIndividuals diagnosed with migraine headaches reported greater VOMS smooth pursuit scores (p = 0.02), convergence scores (p = 0.04), vestibular ocular reflex scores (p value range 0.002–0.04), and visual motion sensitivity scores (p = 0.009). Differences were also observed on K-D oculomotor performance with worse times in those diagnosed with migraine headache (p = 0.02). No differences were reported on NPC distance (p = 0.06) or headache symptom reporting (p = 0.07) prior to the VOMS assessment.CONCLUSIONSPediatric athletes diagnosed with migraine headaches reported higher baseline symptom provocation scores on the VOMS. Athletes with migraine headaches also performed worse on the K-D test, further illustrating the influence of premorbid migraine headaches as a risk factor for elevated concussion assessment outcomes at baseline. Special consideration may be warranted for post-concussion assessment in athletes with migraine headaches.

Modeling of Smooth Pursuit-Related Neuronal Responses in the DLPN and NRTP of the Rhesus Macaque

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Ono ◽  
Vallabh E. Das ◽  
John R. Economides ◽  
Michael J. Mustari
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Component Model ◽  
Pontine Nucleus ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Eye Motion ◽  
Dorsolateral Pontine Nucleus ◽  
Velocity Information ◽  
Linear Regression Modeling ◽  
Component Models ◽  
Eye Velocity

The dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) and nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) comprise obligatory links in the cortico-ponto-cerebellar system supporting smooth pursuit eye movements. We examined the response properties of DLPN and rNRTP neurons during step-ramp smooth pursuit of a small target moving across a dark background. Our neurophysiological studies were conducted in awake, behaving juvenile macaques ( Macaca mulatta). We used multiple linear-regression modeling to estimate the relative sensitivities of neurons to eye parameters (position, velocity, and acceleration) and retinal-error parameters (position, velocity, and acceleration). We found that a large proportion of pursuit-related DLPN neurons primarily code eye-velocity information, whereas a large proportion of rNRTP neurons primarily code eye-acceleration information. We calculated the relative decrease in variance found when using a six-component model that included both eye- and retinal-error parameters compared with three-component models that include either eye or retinal error. These comparisons show that a majority of DLPN (14/20) and rNRTP (17/19) neurons have larger contributions from eye compared with retinal-error parameters ( P < 0.001, paired t-test). Even though eye-motion parameters provide the strongest contributions in a given model, a significant contribution from retinal error was often present (i.e., >20% reduction in variance in 6-component model compared with 3-component models). Thus our results indicate that the DLPN plays a larger role in maintaining steady-state smooth pursuit eye velocity, whereas rNRTP contributes to both the initiation and maintenance of smooth pursuit.

Response properties of dorsolateral pontine units during smooth pursuit in the rhesus macaque

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 664-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Mustari ◽  
A. F. Fuchs ◽  
J. Wallman
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Visual Sensitivity ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Pontine Nucleus ◽  
Stimulus Velocity ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Motion Processing

1. The anatomical connections of the dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) implicate it in the production of smooth-pursuit eye movements. It receives inputs from cortical structures believed to be involved in visual motion processing (middle temporal cortex) or motion execution (posterior parietal cortex) and projects to the flocculus of the cerebellum, which is involved in smooth pursuit. To determine the role of the DLPN in smooth pursuit, we have studied the discharge patterns of 191 DLPN neurons in five monkeys trained to make smooth-pursuit eye movements of a spot moving either across a patterned background or in darkness. 2. Four unit types could be distinguished. Visual units (15%) discharged in response to movement of a large textured pattern, often in a direction-selective fashion but not during smooth pursuit of a spot in the dark. Eye movement neurons (31%) discharged during sinusoidal smooth pursuit in the dark with peak discharge rate either at peak eye position or peak eye velocity, but they showed no response during background movement or during other visual stimulation. These units continued to discharge when the target was extinguished (blanked) briefly, and the monkey continued to make smooth eye movements in the dark. The majority (54%) of our DLPN units discharged during both smooth pursuit in the dark and background movement while the monkey fixated. Blanking the target during smooth pursuit revealed that these units fell into two distinct classes. Visual pursuit units ceased discharging during a blank, suggesting that they had only a visual sensitivity. Pursuit and visual units continued to discharge during the blank, indicating that they had a combined oculomotor and visual sensitivity. 3. Ninety-five percent of the units that discharged during smooth pursuit were direction selective. These units had rather broad directional tuning curves with widths at half height ranging from 65 to 180 degrees. Many preferred directions for DLPN units were observed, although the vertical and near-vertical directions predominated. 4. Most units that responded to large-field background movement were direction selective. During sinusoidal movement of a large-field background, half of them also discharged in relation to stimulus velocity, whereas others did not.

Extraretinal Signals in MSTd Neurons Related to Volitional Smooth Pursuit

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 2819-2825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiji Ono ◽  
Michael J. Mustari
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Vestibular Stimulation ◽  
Neuronal Firing ◽  
Target Velocity ◽  
Ocular Reflex ◽  
Medial Superior Temporal ◽  
Vestibular Ocular Reflex ◽  
Pursuit Neurons

Smooth pursuit (SP)-related neurons in the dorsal-medial part of medial superior temporal cortex (MSTd) carry extraretinal signals that may play a role in maintenance of SP once eye velocity matches target velocity. For example, it has not been determined whether the extraretinal signals reflect volitional SP commands or proprioception. The aim of this study was to test some potential sources of extraretinal signals in MSTd pursuit neurons. We tested 40 MSTd neurons during step-ramp SP with target blink conditions to show that they carried an extraretinal signal. To examine potential contributions from eye movements that might reflect proprioceptive feedback from eye muscles, we tested MSTd neurons during rotational vestibular ocular reflex in complete darkness (VORd). Vestibular stimulation was delivered in the earth horizontal plane to elicit reflex driven smooth eye movements that matched the speed and frequency of volitional SP. We also tested VOR in the light (VORx1) and cancellation of the VOR (VORx0). Our neurons were modulated during both SP and cancellation of the VOR. In contrast, MSTd smooth pursuit neurons with extraretinal signals were not significantly modulated during VORd (sensitivity ≤ 0.10 spike/s/°/s). This combination of properties is compatible with classifying these neurons as gaze-velocity related. Absence of modulation during VORd testing could be caused by cancellation of head and eye movement sensitivity or dependence of neuronal firing on volitional SP commands. Our results support the suggestion that modulation of SP-related MSTd neurons reflects volitional SP commands rather then eye movements generated by reflex pathways.

Neural activity in cortical area MST of alert monkey during ocular following responses

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 2305-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kawano ◽  
M. Shidara ◽  
Y. Watanabe ◽  
S. Yamane
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Stimulus Speed ◽  
Ocular Following ◽  
Mst Neurons

1. We studied response properties of neurons in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) of behaving monkeys that discharged during brief, sudden movements of a large-field visual stimulus, eliciting ocular following. Most neurons responded to movements of a large-field visual stimulus with directional selectivity, preferring high stimulus speeds. Neurons were mostly recorded in the medial superior temporal area (MST) (187/250) and the middle temporal area (MT) (57/250). Further response properties were studied in the MST neurons. 2. Response latencies were measured when a large-field random dot pattern was moved in the preferred direction and preferred speed for each neuron. Eighty percent (120/150) of the neurons were activated “ 50 ms after the onset of the stimulus motion. In most cases (89%, 134/150), increased firing rates started before the eye movements, with 59% (88/150) starting ” 10 ms before the eye movements. 3. The relationship between the latency of neuronal responses and that of eye movements was studied in 59 neurons by changing the stimulus speed systematically (10–160 degrees/s). The latencies of both neuronal and ocular responses decreased as stimulus speed increased. As a result, the time difference between the response latencies for neuronal and ocular responses varied little with changes in stimulus speed. 4. Blurring of the random dot pattern, by interposing a sheet of ground glass, increased the latency of both neuronal responses and eye movements. 5. With the use of a check pattern instead of random dots, both neuronal and ocular responses began to decrease rapidly when the temporal frequency of the visual stimulus exceeded 20 Hz. At 40 Hz the neurons showed a distinctive burst-and-pause firing pattern, and the eye movements showed signs of oscillation. 6. The response properties of the MST neurons during ocular following were similar to those of the dorsolateral pontine nucleus (DLPN) neurons, reported previously. Our results indicate that the MST neurons may provide visual information to the DLPN neurons and may play a role in eliciting ocular following. 7. Responses during smooth-pursuit eye movement were studied in 55 MST neurons. Each of these neurons responded to the moving large-field visual stimulus, which elicited ocular following, and 40 of these neurons were activated during smooth pursuit in the dark. Response latencies during smooth pursuit were long in those neurons having different directional preferences during smooth pursuit and ocular following but were short for those having the same directional preferences during smooth pursuit and ocular following.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Dissociation of smooth pursuit and vestibulo-ocular reflex cancellation in SCA-6

Neurology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 860-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Takeichi ◽  
K. Fukushima ◽  
H. Sasaki ◽  
I. Yabe ◽  
K. Tashiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Ocular Reflex ◽  
Vestibulo Ocular Reflex

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE THREE NEURONS IN THE VESTIBULAR OCULAR REFLEX

1981 ◽  
Vol 374 (1 Vestibular an) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Baker ◽  
C. Evinger ◽  
R. A. McCrea
Keyword(s):  
Ocular Reflex ◽  
Vestibular Ocular Reflex

The vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex, and its interaction with vision during active head motion: Effects of aging

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Ji Soo Kim ◽  
James A. Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Head Motion ◽  
Head Tracking ◽  
Elderly Age ◽  
Ocular Reflex ◽  
Visual Enhancement ◽  
Vestibulo Ocular Reflex ◽  
Effects Of Aging

The effects of aging on the vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), and its interactions with vision during active head motion had not been investigated. We measured smooth pursuit, combined eye-head tracking, the VOR, and its visual enhancement and cancellation during active head motion in pitch using a magnetic search coil technique in 21 younger (age < 65) and 10 elderly (age ⩾ 65) subjects. With the head immobile, subjects pursued a target moving sinusoidally with a frequency range of 0.125 to 2.0 Hz, and with peak target accelerations (PTAs) ranging from 12 to 789Âř/s 2 . Combined eye-head tracking, the VOR in darkness, and its visual enhancement during fixation of an earth-fixed target (VVOR) were measured during active sinusoidal head motion with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 20Âř at frequencies of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 Hz. The efficacy of VOR cancellation was determined from VOR gains during combined eye-head tracking. VOR and VVOR gains were symmetrical in both directions and did not change with aging, except for reduced gains of the downward VOR and VVOR at low frequency (0.25 Hz). However, in the elderly, smooth pursuit, and combined eye-head tracking gains and the efficacy of cancellation of the VOR were significantly lower than in younger subjects. In both the young and elderly groups, VOR gain in darkness did not vary with the frequency of active head motion while the gains of smooth pursuit, combined eye-head tracking, and VVOR declined with increasing target frequency. VOR and VVOR performance in the elderly implicates relative preservation of neural structures subserving vertical vestibular smooth eye motion in senescence.

Smooth-Pursuit Eye-Movement Deficits With Chemical Lesions in Macaque Nucleus Reticularis Tegmenti Pontis

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 1178-1186 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Suzuki ◽  
Tetsuto Yamada ◽  
Rebecca Hoedema ◽  
Robert D. Yee
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Ibotenic Acid ◽  
Frontal Eye Field ◽  
Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Pontine Nucleus ◽  
Nucleus Reticularis Tegmenti Pontis ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Nucleus Reticularis ◽  
Dorsolateral Pontine Nucleus

Anatomic and neuronal recordings suggest that the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) of macaques may be a major pontine component of a cortico-ponto-cerebellar pathway that subserves the control of smooth-pursuit eye movements. The existence of such a pathway was implicated by the lack of permanent pursuit impairment after bilateral lesions in the dorsolateral pontine nucleus. To provide more direct evidence that NRTP is involved with regulating smooth-pursuit eye movements, chemical lesions were made in macaque NRTP by injecting either lidocaine or ibotenic acid. Injection sites first were identified by the recording of smooth-pursuit-related modulations in neuronal activity. The resulting lesions caused significant deficits in both the maintenance and the initiation of smooth-pursuit eye movements. After lesion formation, the gain of constant-velocity, maintained smooth-pursuit eye movements decreased, on the average, by 44%. Recovery of the ability to maintain smooth-pursuit eye movements occurred over ∼3 days when maintained pursuit gains attained normal values. The step-ramp, “Rashbass” task was used to investigate the effects of the lesions on the initiation of smooth-pursuit eye movements. Eye accelerations averaged over the initial 80 ms of pursuit initiation were determined and found to be decremented, on the average, by 48% after the administration of ibotenic acid. Impairments in the initiation and maintenance of smooth-pursuit eye movements were directional in nature. Upward pursuit seemed to be the most vulnerable and was impaired in all cases independent of lesioning agent and type of pursuit investigated. Downward smooth pursuit seemed more resistant to the effects of chemical lesions in NRTP. Impairments in horizontal tracking were observed with examples of deficits in ipsilaterally and contralaterally directed pursuit. The results provide behavioral support for the physiologically and anatomic-based conclusion that NRTP is a component of a cortico-ponto-cerebellar circuit that presumably involves the pursuit area of the frontal eye field (FEF) and projects to ocular motor-related areas of the cerebellum. This FEF-NRTP-cerebellum path would parallel a middle and medial superior temporal cerebral cortical area-dorsolateral pontine nucleus-cerebellum pathway also known to be involved with regulating smooth-pursuit eye movements.

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