Eye movements evoked by microstimulations in the brainstem of the alert cat

Abstract

This study maps the eye movements evoked by microstimulations in the medulla of 9 alert cats. Trains of square waves (20 microA amplitude, 0.2 msec duration, 200 Hz) were delivered through glass-covered tungsten microelectrodes (0.5-1 M omega). Movements of both eyes were recorded by the magnetic field/eye coil technique. Stimulation of the prepositus hypoglossi nucleus (PH) evoked nystagmus with ipsilaterally-directed slow phases followed by after-nystagmus with contralaterally-directed slow phases. Stimulation of the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) induced nystagmus whose slow phases were more often ipsilaterally-directed but at time contralaterally-directed. At nearly all sites where we stimulated the reticular formation underlying prepositus and vestibular nuclei (from P4.5 to P12), we recorded versional conjugate movements. They were most often ipsilaterally-directed. Some microstimulations in the region of the medial longitudinal fasciculus evoked recentering eye movements: regardless of the initial position of the gaze (to the left as well as to the right), microstimulations given at the same place induced a movement of both eyes toward their neutral position. The amplitude of this movement was proportional to the eccentricity of the pre-stimulation position of the gaze.