Segregation of lemniscal inputs and motor cortex outputs in cat ventral thalamic nuclei: application of a novel technique

Reduced Cerebellar Brain Inhibition and Vibrotactile Perception in Response to Mechanical Hand Stimulation at Flutter Frequency

The cerebellum is traditionally considered a movement control structure because of its established afferent and efferent anatomical and functional connections with the motor cortex. In the last decade, studies also proposed its involvement in perception, particularly somatosensory acquisition and prediction of the sensory consequences of movement. However, compared to its role in motor control, the cerebellum's specific role or modulatory influence on other brain areas involved in sensory perception, specifically the primary sensorimotor cortex, is less clear. In the present study, we explored whether peripherally applied vibrotactile stimuli at flutter frequency affect functional cerebello-cortical connections. In 17 healthy volunteers, changes in cerebellar brain inhibition (CBI) and vibration perception threshold (VPT) were measured before and after a 20-min right hand mechanical stimulation at 25 Hz. 5 Hz mechanical stimulation of the right foot served as an active control condition. Performance in a Grooved Pegboard test (GPT) was also measured to assess stimulation's impact on motor performance. Hand stimulation caused a reduction in CBI (13.16%) and increased VPT but had no specific effect on GPT performance, while foot stimulation had no significant effect on all measures. The result added evidence to the functional connections between the cerebellum and primary motor cortex, as shown by CBI reduction. Meanwhile, the parallel increase in VPT indirectly suggests that the cerebellum influences the processing of vibrotactile stimulus through motor-sensory interactions.

Neural origin of evoked potentials during thalamic deep brain stimulation

Closed-loop deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems could provide automatic adjustment of stimulation parameters and improve outcomes in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. The evoked compound action potential (ECAP), generated by activated neurons near the DBS electrode, may provide a suitable feedback control signal for closed-loop DBS. The objectives of this work were to characterize the ECAP across stimulation parameters and determine the neural elements contributing to the signal. We recorded ECAPs during thalamic DBS in anesthetized cats and conducted computer simulations to calculate the ECAP of a population of thalamic neurons. The experimental and computational ECAPs were similar in shape and had characteristics that were correlated across stimulation parameters (R(2) = 0.80-0.95, P < 0.002). The ECAP signal energy increased with larger DBS amplitudes (P < 0.0001) and pulse widths (P < 0.002), and the signal energy of secondary ECAP phases was larger at 10-Hz than at 100-Hz DBS (P < 0.002). The computational model indicated that these changes resulted from a greater extent of neural activation and an increased synchronization of postsynaptic thalamocortical activity, respectively. Administration of tetrodotoxin, lidocaine, or isoflurane abolished or reduced the magnitude of the experimental and computational ECAPs, glutamate receptor antagonists 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) and D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (APV) reduced secondary ECAP phases by decreasing postsynaptic excitation, and the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol increased the latency of the secondary phases by augmenting postsynaptic hyperpolarization. This study demonstrates that the ECAP provides information about the type and extent of neural activation generated during DBS, and the ECAP may serve as a feedback control signal for closed-loop DBS.

Predictions not commands: active inference in the motor system

The descending projections from motor cortex share many features with top-down or backward connections in visual cortex; for example, corticospinal projections originate in infragranular layers, are highly divergent and (along with descending cortico-cortical projections) target cells expressing NMDA receptors. This is somewhat paradoxical because backward modulatory characteristics would not be expected of driving motor command signals. We resolve this apparent paradox using a functional characterisation of the motor system based on Helmholtz's ideas about perception; namely, that perception is inference on the causes of visual sensations. We explain behaviour in terms of inference on the causes of proprioceptive sensations. This explanation appeals to active inference, in which higher cortical levels send descending proprioceptive predictions, rather than motor commands. This process mirrors perceptual inference in sensory cortex, where descending connections convey predictions, while ascending connections convey prediction errors. The anatomical substrate of this recurrent message passing is a hierarchical system consisting of functionally asymmetric driving (ascending) and modulatory (descending) connections: an arrangement that we show is almost exactly recapitulated in the motor system, in terms of its laminar, topographic and physiological characteristics. This perspective casts classical motor reflexes as minimising prediction errors and may provide a principled explanation for why motor cortex is agranular.

Cerebellar processing of sensory inputs primes motor cortex plasticity

Plasticity of the human primary motor cortex (M1) has a critical role in motor control and learning. The cerebellum facilitates these functions using sensory feedback. We investigated whether cerebellar processing of sensory afferent information influences the plasticity of the primary motor cortex (M1). Theta-burst stimulation protocols (TBS), both excitatory and inhibitory, were used to modulate the excitability of the posterior cerebellar cortex and to condition an ongoing M1 plasticity. M1 plasticity was subsequently induced in 2 different ways: by paired associative stimulation (PAS) involving sensory processing and TBS that exclusively involves intracortical circuits of M1. Cerebellar excitation attenuated the PAS-induced M1 plasticity, whereas cerebellar inhibition enhanced and prolonged it. Furthermore, cerebellar inhibition abolished the topography-specific response of PAS-induced M1 plasticity, with the effects spreading to adjacent motor maps. Conversely, cerebellar excitation had no effect on the TBS-induced M1 plasticity. This demonstrates the key role of the cerebellum in priming M1 plasticity, and we propose that it is likely to occur at the thalamic or olivo-dentate nuclear level by influencing the sensory processing. We suggest that such a cerebellar priming of M1 plasticity could shape the impending motor command by favoring or inhibiting the recruitment of several muscle representations.

Tremor-related activity of neurons in the 'motor' thalamus: changes in firing rate and pattern in the MPTP vervet model of parkinsonism

The pathophysiology of parkinsonian tremor remains a matter of debate with two opposing hypotheses proposing a peripheral and a central origin, respectively. A central origin of tremor could arise either from a rhythmic activity of the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) or from a structure such as the thalamus, outside the basal ganglia. In this study, single-unit recordings were performed in three 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-treated monkeys within the GPi and within three territories of the motor thalamus (delimited by their afferent inputs from the GPi, the substantia nigra and the cerebellum, respectively). For each recorded neuron, we compared the variations in firing rate and pattern in tremor and no tremor periods. Tremor either occurred spontaneously or was induced by external stimulation. When the animals entered into a tremor period we observed: (i) an increase in the mean firing rate in about half of the recorded neurons of the motor thalamus; and (ii), a change from an irregular to a rhythmic discharge within the range of tremor frequency (5-7 Hz) in about 10% of the recorded neurons of the motor thalamus (pallidal and cerebellar territories) and the GPi. Most of the thalamic neurons that exhibited a rhythmic discharge during tremor were found to be sensitive to external stimulation. Because the changes in firing rate occurred predominantly in the motor thalamus and not in the GPi, and because a fast rhythmic discharge of 10-15 Hz was frequently observed in the GPi and not in the motor thalamus, we conclude that thalamic activity is not a simple reproduction of basal ganglia output. Moreover, we suggest that thalamic processing of basal ganglia outputs could participate in the genesis of tremor, and that this thalamic processing could be influenced by sensory inputs and/or changes in attentional level elicited by external stimulation.

Poststroke pain control by chronic motor cortex stimulation: neurological characteristics predicting a favorable response

OBJECT

The goal of this study was to identify the neurological characteristics of patients with poststroke pain who show a favorable response to motor cortex (MC) stimulation used to control their pain.

METHODS

The neurological characteristics of 31 patients treated by MC stimulation were analyzed. In 15 patients (48%), excellent or good pain control (pain reduction > 60%) was achieved for follow-up periods of more than 2 years by using MC stimulation at intensities below the threshold for muscle contraction. Satisfactory pain control was achieved in 13 (73%) of 18 patients in whom motor weakness in the painful area was virtually absent or mild, but in only two (15%) of the 13 patients who demonstrated moderate or severe weakness in the painful area (p < 0.01). Muscle contraction was inducible in the painful area in 20 patients when stimulated at a higher intensity. No such muscle response was inducible in the remaining 11 patients, no matter how extensively the authors attempted to determine appropriate stimulation sites. Satisfactory pain control was achieved in 14 (70%) of the 20 patients in whom muscle contraction was inducible, but in only one (9%) of the 11 patients in whom muscle contraction was not inducible (p < 0.01). No significant relationship was observed between pain control and various sensory symptoms, including the presence of hypesthesia, spontaneous dysesthesia, hyperpathia, and allodynia, or the disappearance of the N20 component of the median nerve-evoked somatosensory scalp potential. No significant relationship existed between the effect of MC stimulation on the pain and stimulation-induced phenomena, including paresthesia, improvement in motor performance, and attenuation of involuntary movements.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that the pain control afforded by MC stimulation requires neuronal circuits that are maintained by the presence of intact corticospinal tract neurons originating from the MC. Preoperative evaluation of motor weakness of the painful area appears to be useful for predicting a favorable response to MC stimulation in the control of poststroke pain.

Primary motor cortex influences on the descending and ascending systems

The motor cortex plays a crucial role in the co-ordination of movement and posture. This is possible because the pyramidal tract fibres have access both directly and through collateral branches to structures governing eye, head, neck trunk and limb musculature. Pyramidal tract axons also directly reach the dorsal laminae of the spinal cord and the dorsal column nuclei, thus aiding in the selection of the sensory ascendant transmission. No other neurones in the brain besides pyramidal tract cells have such a wide access to different structures within the central nervous system. The majority of the pyramidal tract fibres that originate in the motor cortex and that send collateral branches to multiple supraspinal structures do not reach the spinal cord. Also, the great majority of the corticospinal neurones that emit multiple intracraneal collateral branches terminate at the cervical spinal cord level. The pyramidal tract fibres directed to the dorsal column nuclei that send collateral branches to supraspinal structures also show a clear tendency to terminate at supraspinal and cervical cord levels. These facts suggest that a substantial co-ordination between descending and ascending pathways might be produced by the same motor cortex axons at both supraspinal and cervical spinal cord sites. This may imply that the motor cortex co-ordination will be mostly directed to motor responses involving eye-neck-forelimb muscle synergies. The review makes special emphasis in the available evidence pointing to the role of the motor cortex in co-ordinating the activities of both descending and ascending pathways related to somatomotor integration and control. The motor cortex may function to co-operatively select a unique motor command by selectively filter sensory information and by co-ordinating the activities of the descending systems related to the control of distal and proximal muscles.

Alterations in intralaminar and motor thalamic physiology following nigrostriatal dopamine depletion

The response of central median/central lateral (CM/CL) and ventral anterior/ventral lateral (VA/VL) thalamic neurons to tactile sensory stimulation of the face and electrical stimulation of the striatum was assessed in awake cats before and after 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) exposure. When cats exhibited Parkinson-like motor deficits, there was a significant decrease in the number of CM/CL and VA/VL neurons responsive to tactile stimulation of the face. Mean spontaneous firing rates decreased by 58% in the CM/CL nuclei, 65% in the VA, and 49% in the VL. The number of thalamic neurons responding to electrical stimulation of the striatum was also significantly decreased in parkinsonian animals. Approximately 6 weeks after MPTP exposure, when cats had spontaneously recovered gross motor function, thalamic responses to peripheral sensory stimulation, electrical stimulation of the CD, and spontaneous activity rates, returned to approximately normal levels in all thalamic areas studied. These findings support the concept that abnormalities in the transmission of information through the thalamus, and in particular, a decrease in sensory responsiveness in intralaminar and motor thalamic regions subsequent to nigrostriatal dopamine depletion, may contribute to the generation of Parkinson-like motor and sensorimotor deficits.

Trends in the anatomical organization and functional significance of the mammalian thalamus

The last decade has witnessed major changes in the experimental approach to the study of the thalamus and to the analysis of the anatomical and functional interrelations between thalamic nuclei and cortical areas. The present review focuses on the novel anatomical approaches to thalamo-cortical connections and thalamic functions in the historical framework of the classical studies on the thalamus. In the light of the most recent data it is here discussed that: a) the thalamus can subserve different functions according to functional changes in the cortical and subcortical afferent systems; b) the multifarious thalamic cellular entities play a crucial role in the different functional states.

Cortico-cortical mediation of short-latency (lemniscal) sensory input to the motor cortex in deeply pentobarbitone anaesthetized cats

In pentobarbitone-anaesthetized cats, responses were recorded as surface positive potentials in the motor cortex on forelimb and brachium conjunctivum stimulation. In such a preparation, the forelimb nerve responses are mediated via the spino-cervical tract and the dorsal column-lemniscal pathway. Lesions of the sensory cortex (sparing only the depth of the coronary sulcus) abolished or reduced short-latency peripheral responses, in the motor cortex, on both skin and muscle nerve stimulation to less than 10% of control, while brachium conjunctivum responses were unchanged. Lesions of the second somatosensory area alone reduced the motor cortex responses on peripheral nerve stimulation by 10-20%. When the sensory cortex was inactivated by spreading depression, peripheral responses in the motor cortex were abolished before the spreading depression reached the recording point, as judged from the brachium conjunctivum response. The depth distribution of positive and negative field potentials, constituting the early components of a peripheral response in the motor cortex, closely resembled that of a cortico-cortical response evoked on stimulation in area 3. It differed from that of thalamo-cortical response evoked on brachium conjunctivum stimulation. These data suggest that most, if not all, sensory input through the dorsal column and spino-cervical tract to the motor cortex is mediated via the sensory cortex.

Distribution of four types of synapse on physiologically identified relay neurons in the ventral posterior thalamic nucleus of the cat

This study was aimed at providing quantitative data on the thalamic circuitry that underlies the central processing of somatosensory information. Four physiologically identified thalamocortical relay neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) of the cat thalamus were injected with horseradish peroxidase and subjected to quantitative electron microscopy after pre- or postembedding immunostaining for gamma-aminobutyric acid to reveal synaptic terminals of thalamic inhibitory neurons. The four cells all had rapidly adapting responses to light mechanical stimuli applied to their receptive fields, which were situated on hairy or glabrous skin or related to a joint. Their dendritic architecture was typical of cells previously described as type I relay cells in VPL, and they lacked dendritic appendages. Terminals ending in synapses on the injected cells were categorized as RL (ascending afferent), F (inhibitory), PSD (presynaptic dendrite), and RS (mainly corticothalamic) types and were quantified in reconstructions of serial thin sections. RL and F terminals formed the majority of the synapses on proximal dendrites (approximately 50% each). The number of synapses formed by RL terminals declined on intermediate dendrites, but those formed by F terminals remained relatively high, declining to moderate levels (20-30%) on distal dendrites. RS terminals formed moderate numbers of the synapses on intermediate dendrites and the majority (> 60%) of the synapses on distal dendrites. Synapses formed by PSDs were concentrated on intermediate dendrites and were few in number (approximately 6%). They formed synaptic triads with F terminals and rarely with RL terminals. On somata, only a few synapses were found, all made by F terminals. The total number of synapses per cell was calculated to be 5,584-8,797, with a density of 0.6-0.9 per micrometer of dendritic length. Of the total, RL terminals constituted approximately 15%, F terminals approximately 35%, PSD terminals approximately 5%, and RS terminals approximately 50%. These results provide the first quantitative assessment of the synaptic architecture of thalamic somatic sensory relay neurons and show the basic organizational pattern exhibited by representatives of the physiological type of relay neurons most commonly encountered in the VPL nucleus.

The effect of fasciculus cuneatus lesions on finger positioning and long-latency reflexes in monkeys

Previous studies have reported abnormalities in fine hand and finger movements following interruption of the fasciculus cuneatus (FC) in primates. We report here that many of these deficits could be caused by an inability to actively regulate the position of the finger. Three macaques were trained to maintain the index finger in one position against constant or changing loads. Periodically, torque pulses were used to elicit reflexes in finger muscles. Following unilateral FC lesions, the monkeys failed to adjust finger position during the trials, and the normal M2 long-latency response was absent in the finger muscles. Performance on the task was impaired only in monkeys with complete lesions that included the deep ventral portion of the FC. These results suggest that afferent fibers in the FC regulate finger position, and do so partly through reflexive mechanisms. When the FC is interrupted, the inability to control finger position disturbs fine motor activities.

Fine structure of the ventral lateral nucleus (VL) of the Macaca mulatta thalamus: cell types and synaptology

Ultrastructure of the major cerebellar territory of the monkey thalamus, or VL as delineated in sagittal maps by Ilinsky and Kultas-Ilinsky (J. Comp. Neurol. 262:331-364, '87), was analyzed by using neuroanatomical tracing, immunocytochemical, and quantitative morphometric techniques. The VL nucleus contains nerve cells of two types. Multipolar neurons (PN) retrogradely labeled with wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) from the precentral gyrus display a tufted branching pattern of the proximal dendrites and have a range of soma areas from 200 to 1,000 microns2 (mean 535.2 microns2, SD = 159.5). Small glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) immunoreactive cells (LCN) exhibit sizes from 65 to 210 microns2 (mean 122.5 microns2, SD = 32.8) and remain unlabeled after cortical injections. The two cell types can be further distinguished by ultrastructural features. Unlike PN, LCN display little perikaryal cytoplasm, a small irregularly shaped nucleolus, and synaptic vesicles in proximal dendrites. The ratio of PN to LCN is 3:1. The LCN dendrites establish synaptic contacts on PN somata and all levels of dendritic arbor either singly or as a part of complex synaptic arrangements. They are also presynaptic to other LCN dendrites. Terminals known as LR type, i.e., large boutons containing round vesicles, are the most conspicuous in the neuropil. They form asymmetric contacts on somata and proximal dendrites of PN as well as on distal dendrites of LCN. The areas of these boutons range from 0.7 to 12 microns2 and the appositional length on PN dendrites ranges from 1.1 to 14 microns. All LR boutons except the largest ones become anterogradely labeled from large WGA-HRP injections in the deep cerebellar nuclei. These boutons are also encountered as part of triads and glomeruli, but very infrequently since the latter complex synaptic arrangements are rare. The most numerous axon terminals in the neuropil are the SR type, i.e., small terminals (mean area 0.42 micron2) containing round vesicles. The SR boutons become anterogradely labeled after WGA-HRP injections in the precentral gyrus. They form distinct asymmetric contacts predominantly on distal PN and LCN dendrites; however, their domain partially overlaps that of LR boutons at intermediate levels of PN dendrites. The SR boutons are components of serial synapses with LCN dendrites which, in turn, contact somata and all levels of dendritic arbors of PN. They also participate in complex arrangements that consist of sequences of LCN dendrites, serial synapses, and occasional boutons with symmetric contacts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A procedure for the simultaneous visualization of two anterograde and different retrograde fluorescent tracers. Application to the study of the afferent-efferent organization of thalamic anterior intralaminar nuclei

The present report describes a method for the simultaneous visualization, in the same structure, of two different sets of afferent pathways and the neurons of origin of some efferent projections. This method has been applied in the cat for studying, in the thalamic anterior intralaminar nuclei, the topographical relationships of afferent arising from the spinal cord and deep cerebellar nuclei with neurons projecting to different cortical areas. Spino- and cerebello-thalamic terminals were anterogradely labeled by injections of the fluorescent dyes fast blue (FB) and 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) in the spinal cord and cerebellum. Thalamo-cortical neurons were retrogradely labeled by injections of fluorescent tracers in the precruciate and anterior suprasylvian cortices. The findings show that spinal and cerebellar afferent fibers and the cells of origin of intralaminocortical projections are organized in a clear modular manner and indicate that the method used here is suitable for analyzing simultaneously, in light microscopy, multiple input-output interrelationships of a single structure.

A new parcellation of the human thalamus on the basis of histochemical staining

Serial sections of human thalami, cut in the 3 standard planes, were stained in alternating series for Nissl substance, myelin, cytochrome oxidase and acetylcholinesterase. Nissl and acetylcholinesterase-stained sections revealed a parcellation of the nuclei that could be correlated with that used in the macaque monkey thalamus. Human nuclei were accordingly re-named using the monkey nomenclature. Apart from differences of size, the nuclei of the human and monkey thalamus are remarkably similar. In the human ventral nuclear complex there is a very clear histochemical distinction between nuclei which, on the basis of comparison with the monkey, probably form the pallidal, cerebellar and lemniscal relays to premotor, motor and somatic sensory cortex, respectively. In the human somatic sensory relay nucleus there is a further clear cytoarchitectonic distinction between components that are probably equivalent to the relays for deep and cutaneous receptors in the equivalent monkey nucleus.