Neurons within the trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus encode for the kinematic parameters of the whisker pad macrovibrissae
| Autor: | Marco Zedda, Ombretta Mameli, Vittorio Farina, Marcello A. Caria, Francesca Biagi |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Male Central Nervous System Me5 proprioception of macrovibrissae movements animal structures Physiology Spontaneous movements Tegmentum Mesencephali Kinematics lcsh:Physiology Structural Neuroscience 03 medical and health sciences Trigeminal ganglion 0302 clinical medicine Whisker Physiology (medical) Physical Stimulation medicine Neural Circuits and Systems Animals Me5 whisking‐neurons rat Rats Wistar Original Research Neurons Single cluster Proprioception lcsh:QP1-981 Chemistry Anatomy Biomechanical Phenomena Electrophysiology 030104 developmental biology medicine.anatomical_structure trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus Touch Vibrissae Nucleus 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Motor Control |
| Zdroj: | Physiological Reports, Vol 5, Iss 10, Pp n/a-n/a (2017) Physiological Reports |
| Popis: | It has been recently shown in rats that spontaneous movements of whisker pad macrovibrissae elicited evoked responses in the trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus (Me5). In the present study, electrophysiological and neuroanatomical experiments were performed in anesthetized rats to evaluate whether, besides the whisker displacement per se, the Me5 neurons are also involved in encoding the kinematic properties of macrovibrissae movements, and also whether, as reported for the trigeminal ganglion, even within the Me5 nucleus exists a neuroanatomical representation of the whisker pad macrovibrissae. Extracellular electrical activity of single Me5 neurons was recorded before, during, and after mechanical deflection of the ipsilateral whisker pad macrovibrissae in different directions, and with different velocities and amplitudes. In several groups of animals, single or multiple injections of the tracer Dil were performed into the whisker pad of one side, in close proximity to the vibrissae follicles, in order to label the peripheral terminals of the Me5 neurons innervating the macrovibrissae (whisking‐neurons), and therefore, the respective perikaria within the nucleus. Results showed that: (1) the whisker pad macrovibrissae were represented in the medial‐caudal part of the Me5 nucleus by a single cluster of cells whose number seemed to match that of the macrovibrissae; (2) macrovibrissae mechanical deflection elicited significant responses in the Me5 whisking‐neurons, which were related to the direction, amplitude, and frequency of the applied deflection. The specific functional role of Me5 neurons involved in encoding proprioceptive information arising from the macrovibrissae movements is discussed within the framework of the whole trigeminal nuclei activities. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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