Effect of visual deprivation on evoked potentials in the visual cortex and superior colliculus in rabbits

Evoked potentials arising in the visual cortex and superior colliculus to stimulation of the collateral eye by single, paired, and repetitive flashes were recorded in rabbits reared in darkness or in normal illumination. The absence of significant change in the latent period and amplitudes of the first two components of the collicular responses and of the recovery cycle and response to repetitive stimulation in the light-deprived animals suggest that photic stimulation does not affect the normal functional development of the rabbit retinotectal system. However, functional deafferentation in the early postnatal period gives rise to serious disturbances of visual cortical function, as reflected in a marked decrease in amplitude of the primary response, lengthening of the recovery cycle, and narrowing of the range of rhythm-binding frequencies of flashes. These disturbances were reversible. The period of maximal sensitivity of the rabbit retinocortical system to visual deprivation begins at the end of the first month of postnatal life. The possible mechanisms lying at the basis of these functional disturbances in light-deprived animals are discussed.     

Long-term potentiation and unit evoked responses in the cingulate cortex of freely moving rats

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic efficacy is considered to be the most probable physiological mechanism of long-term memory. However, lack of understanding of cellular and subcellular mechanisms of LTP induction in freely behaving animals does not correspond to the importance of the problem. It was tested whether the characteristics of potentiation in the cingulate cortex after tetanization of the subiculocingulate tract (SCT) meet the criteria of true LTP (that passes all known stages in its development and lasts for more than a day in freely-behaving animals). Additionally, characteristics of spike responses to SCT stimulation and the effects of application of different glutamate receptor blockers were studied. Without application of GABA receptor blockers, the LTP lasted for more than 24 hours. Application of NMDA glutamate receptor blockers significantly inhibited field potentials evoke by testing stimulation. Short-latency spike responses to SCT stimulation were recorded with low probability that increased with stimulation intensity. The obtained data reveal the possibility to compare the involvement of cingulate neurons in acquisition of adaptive behavior and changes in their spike responses during the LTP development in freely-moving rats.     

Influence of the motor cortex on lateral geniculate responses evoked in the cat by contralateral superior colliculus stimulation

It is shown that in nembutal anesthetized cats, a single stimulation of motor cortex (MC) causes a response in lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The development of this response had a conditioning effect on the LGN response evoked by stimulation of the contralateral superior colliculus (SC), markedly inhibiting it. The degree of this inhibition depended on the time interval between the cortical conditioning stimulation and the tectal test stimulation. A single conditioning MC stimulation did not noticeably change the LGN responses evoked by a light stimulus, but markedly inhibited visual responses from deep SC layers (those regions which on stimulation gave rise to LGN responses). From the results, it is suggested that the MC monitors the execution of tectal influences on LGN function at the tectal level rather than the geniculate level, and it is precisely by this means that it regulates saccadic suppression of LGN function, in the realization of which, as presumed earlier, the SC takes part.A. I. Karaev Institute of Physiology, Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, Baku. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 24, No. 4, July–August 1992.     

Amino acid profiles in long-evans rat superior colliculus,visual cortex,and inferior colliculus

An ultransensitive triple-column ion-exchange/fluorometric method was utilized to measure the levels of over 30 amino acids and related primary amino compounds in Long-Evans rat superior colliculus (SC), visual cortex (VC) and inferior colliculus (IC). Comparison of levels of amino compounds revealed distinctly different profiles for each region. Major constituents were the neurotransmitters and related compounds glutamate, glutamine, GABA, taurine, aspartate and glycine. Glutathione levels were also relatively high in all three regions. SC exhibited a significantly higher level of GABA and -alanine compared to both VC and IC. VC had significantly higher levels of glutamate and taurine. VC exhibited the lowest level of glycine and IC the highest. A time-course experiment using SC documented that levels of eleven of thirty-four compounds, including GABA, were subject to significant postmortem alteration in vitro. SC GABA stability experiments indicated that significant in vitro increases of free GABA levels between 1 and 4 min postmortem were associated with equimolar decreases of conjugated GABA levels.     

Dynamic characteristics of evoked potentials in the cat superior colliculus

Evoked potentials in the superior colliculus during monocular presentation of short flashes to the dark- and light-adapted eye were studied in experiments on cats anesthetized with pentobarbital. On insertion of the recording electrode deep into the superior colliculus simultaneous nonspecular inversion of the second and third components of the evoked potential was observed. The first component was not inverted. During stimulation of the retina by pairs of flashes the second response appeared when the interval between them was 70 msec. The amplitudes of the second and third components of the evoked potential decreased with an increase in the frequency of stimulation. Suggestions regarding the genesis of the various components of the evoked potential are put forward.Institute of the Brain, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 21–27, January–February, 1973.     

Whole-cell recordings in freely moving rats

Intracellular recording, which allows direct measurement of the membrane potential and currents of individual neurons, requires a very mechanically stable preparation and has thus been limited to in vitro and head-immobilized in vivo experiments. This restriction constitutes a major obstacle for linking cellular and synaptic physiology with animal behavior. To overcome this limitation we have developed a method for performing whole-cell recordings in freely moving rats. We constructed a miniature head-mountable recording device, with mechanical stabilization achieved by anchoring the recording pipette rigidly in place after the whole-cell configuration is established. We obtain long-duration recordings (mean of approximately 20 min, maximum 60 min) in freely moving animals that are remarkably insensitive to mechanical disturbances, then reconstruct the anatomy of the recorded cells. This head-anchored whole-cell recording technique will enable a wide range of new studies involving detailed measurement and manipulation of the physiological properties of identified cells during natural behaviors.     

Norepinephrine kinetics in freely moving rats

Norepinephrine (NE) kinetics were investigated in freely moving (FM) and minimally stressed (MS) rats with the isotope dilution technique. 1) The mean NE spillover rate (NE-SOR) was 79 +/- 6 ng. kg(-1). min(-1), and the mean NE metabolic clearance rate (NE-MCR) 179 +/- 9 ml. kg(-1). min(-1) (n = 31). Thus the NE kinetics in FM and MS rats are much faster than in human beings, probably related to a higher sympathetic drive. 2) Whether the magnitude of NE-MCR is related to the level of plasma NE concentration was investigated. No significant correlation was calculated between plasma NE concentration and NE-MCR in 31 control rats. When plasma NE concentration was varied during either acute or chronic infusion of exogenous NE, NE-MCR remained unchanged as long as animal hemodynamics were not altered. When plasma NE concentration was high enough to increase mean arterial pressure (MAP), NE-MCR was decreased. However, when MAP was increased within comparable magnitude, NE-MCR was decreased during NE and increased during epinephrine (Epi) infusion. Thus the existence of an alpha-/beta-adrenergic mechanism involved in the regulation of NE-MCR independent of known hemodynamic mechanisms is suggested. 3) The "epinephrine hypothesis" was revisited in FM and MS rats. At variance with humans, very high plasma Epi concentrations have to be induced to increase NE-SOR in resting rats. Furthermore, NE-MCR was also increased, accounting for the nonsignificant increase of plasma NE concentration. Within the range of Epi concentrations with no effect on NE-SOR, an increase of NE release was revealed when the presynaptic alpha(2)-adrenoreceptors were partially inhibited by yohimbine. This suggests the existence of a second epinephrine hypothesis.     

Control of the superior colliculus by the lateral prefrontal cortex

Several decades of patient, functional imaging and neurophysiological studies have supported a model in which the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) acts to suppress unwanted saccades by inhibiting activity in the oculomotor system. However, recent results from combined PFC deactivation and neural recordings of the superior colliculus in monkeys demonstrate that the primary influence of the PFC on the oculomotor system is excitatory, and stands in direct contradiction to the inhibitory model of PFC function. Although erroneous saccades towards a visual stimulus are commonly labelled reflexive in patients with PFC damage or dysfunction, the latencies of most of these saccades are outside of the range of express saccades, which are triggered directly by the visual stimulus. Deactivation and pharmacological manipulation studies in monkeys suggest that response errors following PFC damage or dysfunction are not the result of a failure in response suppression but can best be understood in the context of a failure to maintain and implement the proper task set.     

Hierarchical action encoding in prefrontal cortex of freely moving macaques

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