Response of commissural and other upper cervical ventral horn neurons to vestibular stimuli in vertical planes

Abstract

1. To study their contribution to the vestibulocollic reflex, we have studied, in decerebrate paralyzed cats, the effect of sinusoidal vestibular stimulation in multiple vertical planes on the spontaneous activity of neurons in the C3 ventral horn. Antidromic microstimulation was used to identify 17/42 neurons as commissural; 10 of these were confirmed to have a projection to the contralateral ventral horn. 2. Dynamics of the responses of spontaneously firing neurons were studied with 0.05-1 Hz sinusoidal stimuli delivered near the plane of rotation that produced maximal modulation of neuron activity (response vector orientation). On the basis of their responses, we classified 38 neurons as receiving otolith, semicircular canal, or otolith + canal input. All three response types were found among commissure and nonantidromic neurons. 3. Two-thirds of neuron response vector orientations pointed contralaterally. They were either near the anterior or posterior canal planes or in the roll quadrant. In the case of neurons with input from canals, the latter indicates convergence from the vertical canals on the same side. There were almost no vectors in the pitch quadrants. The distribution of response vector orientations resembles that seen in the vestibular nuclei and pontomedullary reticular formation, suggesting that commissural neurons may not make a new contribution to spatial processing in the vertical vestibulocollic reflex. 4. It is presumed that commissural neurons are premotor. If so, some have the properties to be in the pathway between the contralateral utricle and neck motoneurons. More generally, their actions could modify the effectiveness of vestibulospinal and reticulospinal fibers that have similar spatial properties and make synapses with neck motoneurons.