Neuronal responses to tilt within the rat cerebellar vermis
Brain Research Bulletin. 2009-03-01; 78(4-5): 182-188
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.10.001
Lire sur PubMed
1. Brain Res Bull. 2009 Mar 16;78(4-5):182-8. doi:
10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.10.001. Epub 2008 Nov 4.
Neuronal responses to tilt within the rat cerebellar vermis.
Barresi M(1), Bruschini L, Manzoni D.
Author information:
(1)Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiologiche, Università di Catania, viale A. Doria 6,
I-95125 Catania, Italy.
Cats corticocerebellar units within the anterior vermis are affected by the
vestibular input and show directionally tuned responses. The aim of the study was
investigating whether a similar representation of labyrinth signals was present
in the rat cerebellar vermis by recording units activity during tilt and wobble
rotations. The analysis of the neuronal discharge during both clockwise (CW) and
counterclockwise (CCW) wobble allowed to determine the spatial (preferred
direction) and temporal (response phase) response properties of the recorded
neurons. Many units were affected by labyrinthine stimulation. « Bi-directional »
units responded to both CW and CCW stimuli, being characterized by a direction of
maximal sensitivity (theta(max)), the distribution of which covered all the
sectors of the horizontal plane, with contralaterally pointing vectors more
represented within the caudal part of the explored region. Differences in the
amplitude of the CW and CCW responses indicated that neurons received a
convergence of vestibular signals endowed with different spatial and temporal
properties, a process that is expected to link their response phase with the tilt
direction. Population vector analysis showed that recorded neurons coded both the
amplitude and direction of head tilt during different types of rotational
stimuli. In conclusion, the present results show that the processing of
vestibular signals with complex spatiotemporal properties represents a general
function of the mammalian cerebellar vermis, allowing accurate monitoring of head
rotational movements (of the head) in vertical planes. Finally, in rats,
different cerebellar regions seem to receive specific vestibular inputs.
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.10.001
PMID: 18992305 [Indexed for MEDLINE]