Distribution of vestibulospinal synaptic input to cat triceps surae motoneurons

Adaptive Neural Decoder for Prosthetic Hand Control

The overarching goal was to resolve a major barrier to real-life prosthesis usability-the rapid degradation of prosthesis control systems, which require frequent recalibrations. Specifically, we sought to develop and test a motor decoder that provides (1) highly accurate, real-time movement response, and (2) unprecedented adaptability to dynamic changes in the amputee's biological state, thereby supporting long-term integrity of control performance with few recalibrations. To achieve that, an adaptive motor decoder was designed to auto-switch between algorithms in real-time. The decoder detects the initial aggregate motoneuron spiking activity from the motor pool, then engages the optimal parameter settings for decoding the motoneuron spiking activity in that particular state. "Clear-box" testing of decoder performance under varied physiological conditions and post-amputation complications was conducted by comparing the movement output of a simulated prosthetic hand as driven by the decoded signal vs. as driven by the actual signal. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Normalized Root Mean Square Error were used to quantify the accuracy of the decoder's output. Our results show that the decoder algorithm extracted the features of the intended movement and drove the simulated prosthetic hand accurately with real-time performance (<10 ms) (Pearson's correlation coefficient >0.98 to >0.99 and Normalized Root Mean Square Error <13-5%). Further, the decoder robustly decoded the spiking activity of multi-speed inputs, inputs generated from reversed motoneuron recruitment, and inputs reflecting substantial biological heterogeneity of motoneuron properties, also in real-time. As the amputee's neuromodulatory state changes throughout the day and the electrical properties and ratio of slower vs. faster motoneurons shift over time post-amputation, the motor decoder presented here adapts to such changes in real-time and is thus expected to greatly enhance and extend the usability of prostheses.

The effects of model composition design choices on high-fidelity simulations of motoneuron recruitment and firing behaviors

OBJECTIVE

Computational models often require tradeoffs, such as balancing detail with efficiency; yet optimal balance should incorporate sound design features that do not bias the results of the specific scientific question under investigation. The present study examines how model design choices impact simulation results.

APPROACH

We developed a rigorously-validated high-fidelity computational model of the spinal motoneuron pool to study three long-standing model design practices which have yet to be examined for their impact on motoneuron recruitment, firing rate, and force simulations. The practices examined were the use of: (1) generic cell models to simulate different motoneuron types, (2) discrete property ranges for different motoneuron types, and (3) biological homogeneity of cell properties within motoneuron types.

MAIN RESULTS

Our results show that each of these practices accentuates conditions of motoneuron recruitment based on the size principle, and minimizes conditions of mixed and reversed recruitment orders, which have been observed in animal and human recordings. Specifically, strict motoneuron orderly size recruitment occurs, but in a compressed range, after which mixed and reverse motoneuron recruitment occurs due to the overlap in electrical properties of different motoneuron types. Additionally, these practices underestimate the motoneuron firing rates and force data simulated by existing models.

SIGNIFICANCE

Our results indicate that current modeling practices increase conditions of motoneuron recruitment based on the size principle, and decrease conditions of mixed and reversed recruitment order, which, in turn, impacts the predictions made by existing models on motoneuron recruitment, firing rate, and force. Additionally, mixed and reverse motoneuron recruitment generated higher muscle force than orderly size motoneuron recruitment in these simulations and represents one potential scheme to increase muscle efficiency. The examined model design practices, as well as the present results, are applicable to neuronal modeling throughout the nervous system.

The potential for understanding the synaptic organization of human motor commands via the firing patterns of motoneurons

Motoneurons are unique in being the only neurons in the CNS whose firing patterns can be easily recorded in human subjects. This is because of the one-to-one relationship between the motoneuron and muscle cell behavior. It has long been appreciated that the connection of motoneurons to their muscle fibers allows their action potentials to be amplified and recorded, but only recently has it become possible to simultaneously record the firing pattern of many motoneurons via array electrodes placed on the skin. These firing patterns contain detailed information about the synaptic organization of motor commands to the motoneurons. This review focuses on parameters in these firing patterns that are directly linked to specific features of this organization. It is now well established that motor commands consist of three components, excitation, inhibition, and neuromodulation; the importance of the third component has become increasingly evident. Firing parameters linked to each of the three components are discussed, along with consideration of potential limitations in their utility for understanding the underlying organization of motor commands. Future work based on realistic computer simulations of motoneurons may allow quantitative "reverse engineering" of human motoneuron firing patterns to provide good estimates of the relative amplitudes and temporal patterns of all three components of motor commands.

The transformation of synaptic to system plasticity in motor output from the sacral cord of the adult mouse

Synaptic plasticity is fundamental in shaping the output of neural networks. The transformation of synaptic plasticity at the cellular level into plasticity at the system level involves multiple factors, including behavior of local networks of interneurons. Here we investigate the synaptic to system transformation for plasticity in motor output in an in vitro preparation of the adult mouse spinal cord. System plasticity was assessed from compound action potentials (APs) in spinal ventral roots, which were generated simultaneously by the axons of many motoneurons (MNs). Synaptic plasticity was assessed from intracellular recordings of MNs. A computer model of the MN pool was used to identify the middle steps in the transformation from synaptic to system behavior. Two input systems that converge on the same MN pool were studied: one sensory and one descending. The two synaptic input systems generated very different motor outputs, with sensory stimulation consistently evoking short-term depression (STD) whereas descending stimulation had bimodal plasticity: STD at low frequencies but short-term facilitation (STF) at high frequencies. Intracellular and pharmacological studies revealed contributions from monosynaptic excitation and stimulus time-locked inhibition but also considerable asynchronous excitation sustained from local network activity. The computer simulations showed that STD in the monosynaptic excitatory input was the primary driver of the system STD in the sensory input whereas network excitation underlies the bimodal plasticity in the descending system. These results provide insight on the roles of plasticity in the monosynaptic and polysynaptic inputs converging on the same MN pool to overall motor plasticity.

Modulation of the input-output function by GABAA receptor-mediated currents in rat oculomotor nucleus motoneurons

The neuronal input-output function depends on recruitment threshold and gain of the firing frequency-current (f-I) relationship. These two parameters are positively correlated in ocular motoneurons (MNs) recorded in alert preparation and inhibitory inputs could contribute to this correlation. Phasic inhibition mediated by γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) occurs when a high concentration of GABA at the synaptic cleft activates postsynaptic GABAA receptors, allowing neuronal information transfer. In some neuronal populations, low concentrations of GABA activate non-synaptic GABAA receptors and generate a tonic inhibition, which modulates cell excitability. This study determined how ambient GABA concentrations modulate the input-output relationship of rat oculomotor nucleus MNs. Superfusion of brain slices with GABA (100 μm) produced a GABAA receptor-mediated current that reduced the input resistance, increased the recruitment threshold and shifted the f-I relationship rightward without any change in gain. These modifications did not depend on MN size. In absence of exogenous GABA, gabazine (20 μm; antagonist of GABAA receptors) abolished spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents and revealed a tonic current in MNs. Gabazine increased input resistance and decreased recruitment threshold mainly in larger MNs. The f-I relationship shifted to the left, without any change in gain. Gabazine effects were chiefly due to MN tonic inhibition because tonic current amplitude was five-fold greater than phasic. This study demonstrates a tonic inhibition in ocular MNs that modulates cell excitability depending on cell size. We suggest that GABAA tonic inhibition acting concurrently with glutamate receptors activation could reproduce the positive covariation between threshold and gain reported in alert preparation.

Selective responses to tonic descending commands by temporal summation in a spinal motor pool

Motor responses of varying intensities rely on descending commands to heterogeneous pools of motoneurons. In vertebrates, numerous sources of descending excitatory input provide systematically more drive to progressively less excitable spinal motoneurons. While this presumably facilitates simultaneous activation of motor pools, it is unclear how selective patterns of recruitment could emerge from inputs weighted this way. Here, using in vivo electrophysiological and imaging approaches in larval zebrafish, we find that, despite weighted excitation, more excitable motoneurons are preferentially activated by a midbrain reticulospinal nucleus by virtue of longer membrane time constants that facilitate temporal summation of tonic drive. We confirm the utility of this phenomenon by assessing the activity of the midbrain and motoneuron populations during a light-driven behavior. Our findings demonstrate that weighted descending commands can generate selective motor responses by exploiting systematic differences in the biophysical properties of target motoneurons and their relative sensitivity to tonic input.

Motor unit

Movement is accomplished by the controlled activation of motor unit populations. Our understanding of motor unit physiology has been derived from experimental work on the properties of single motor units and from computational studies that have integrated the experimental observations into the function of motor unit populations. The article provides brief descriptions of motor unit anatomy and muscle unit properties, with more substantial reviews of motoneuron properties, motor unit recruitment and rate modulation when humans perform voluntary contractions, and the function of an entire motor unit pool. The article emphasizes the advances in knowledge on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the neuromodulation of motoneuron activity and attempts to explain the discharge characteristics of human motor units in terms of these principles. A major finding from this work has been the critical role of descending pathways from the brainstem in modulating the properties and activity of spinal motoneurons. Progress has been substantial, but significant gaps in knowledge remain.

Short-duration galvanic vestibular stimulation evokes prolonged balance responses

The application of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) evokes distinct responses in lower limb muscles involved in the control of balance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the balance and lower limb muscle responses to short-duration GVS and to determine whether these responses are modulated by small changes in center of gravity (CoG) and baseline muscle activity occurring during quiet standing. Twelve subjects stood quietly on a force plate with their feet together and were instructed to look straight ahead. One thousand twenty-four GVS stimuli (4 mA, 20-ms pulses) were delivered bilaterally to the mastoid processes in a bipolar, binaural configuration. Bilateral surface electromyography (EMG) from soleus (Sol) and tibialis anterior (TA) and ground reaction forces were recorded. EMG and force responses were trigger averaged at the onset of the GVS pulse. Short-duration GVS applied during quiet standing with the head facing forward evoked characteristic balance responses and biphasic modulation of all muscles with the same polarity for ipsilateral Sol and TA. The amplitude of the GVS-evoked muscle responses was modulated by both the estimated position of the subject's CoG and the background activation of the recorded muscle. Muscle-dependent modulations of the GVS-evoked muscle responses were observed: the Sol responses decreased, while the TA responses increased when the CoG position shifted toward the heels. The well-defined balance responses evoked by short-duration GVS are important to acknowledge when studying the vestibulo-motor responses in healthy subjects and patient populations.

Persistent inward currents in motoneuron dendrites: implications for motor output

The dendrites of motoneurons are not, as once thought, passive conduits for synaptic inputs. Instead they have voltage-dependent channels that provide the capacity to generate a very strong persistent inward current (PIC). The amplitude of the PIC is proportional to the level of neuromodulatory input from the brainstem, which is mediated primarily by the monoamines serotonin and norepinephrine. During normal motor behavior, monoaminergic drive is likely to be moderately strong and the dendritic PIC generates many of the characteristic features of motor unit firing patterns. Most of the PIC activates at or below recruitment threshold and thus motor unit firing patterns exhibit a linear increase just above recruitment. The dendritic PIC allows motor unit derecruitment to occur at a lower input level than recruitment, thus providing sustained tonic firing with little or no synaptic input, especially in low-threshold units. However the dendritic PIC can be readily deactivated by synaptic inhibition. The overall amplification due to the dendritic PIC and other effects of monoamines on motoneurons greatly increases the input-output gain of the motor pool. Thus the brainstem neuromodulatory input provides a mechanism by which the excitability of motoneurons can be varied for different motor behaviors. This control system is lost in spinal cord injury but PICs nonetheless recover near-normal amplitudes in the months following the initial injury. The relationship of these findings to the cause of the spasticity syndrome developing after spinal cord injury is discussed.

Galvanic vestibular stimulation alters the onset of motor unit discharge

We have previously shown that galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) can modulate the amplitude of the passive soleus H-reflex. This study examined whether the response resulted from a general change in excitability of the motoneuron pool or a specific modulation of individual motor units (MUs). Subjects performed slow isometric plantarflexor actions in a prone lying and kneeling position until the discharge of a single gastrocnemius MU was detected. During randomly selected trials, a 1-mA bipolar, binaural galvanic stimulus was triggered just prior to the start of plantarflexor activity. With the knee extended and the medial gastrocnemius (MG) at a long muscle length, GVS did not have an effect on MU activity. However, when the knee was flexed and the MG muscle was shortened, GVS significantly modified the onset of activation and the initial firing frequency of MUs. This may reflect a change in the gain of the presynaptic inhibitory mechanisms that act on the motoneuron pool once a muscle reaches a shortened, nonoptimal force-producing length. Thus, GVS may provide an important research tool for activating descending vestibulospinal pathways that act on lower-limb motoneurons and may be applied to test the integrity of the spinal cord.

Vestibulospinal influences on lower limb motoneurons

Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) is a research tool used to activate the vestibular system in human subjects. When a low-intensity stimulus (1–4 mA) is delivered percutaneously to the vestibular nerve, a transient electromyographic response is observed a short time later in lower limb muscles. Typically, galvanically evoked responses are present when the test muscle is actively engaged in controlling standing balance. However, there is evidence to suggest that GVS may be able to modulate the activity of lower limb muscles when subjects are not in a free-standing situation. The purpose of this review is to examine 2 studies from our laboratory that examined the effects of GVS on the lower limb motoneuron pool. For instance, a monopolar monaural galvanic stimulus modified the amplitude of the ipsilateral soleus H-reflex. Furthermore, bipolar binaural GVS significantly altered the onset of activation and the initial firing frequency of gastrocnemius motor units. The following paper examines the effects of GVS on muscles that are not being used to maintain balance. We propose that GVS is modulating motor output by influencing the activity of presynaptic inhibitory mechanisms that act on the motoneuron pool.Key words: galvanic vestibular stimulation, h-reflex, motor unit, vestibulospinal, human.

Recruitment order of cat abducens motoneurons and internuclear neurons

Abducens neurons undergo a dose-dependent synaptic blockade (either disinhibition or complete blockade) when tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) is injected into the lateral rectus muscle at either a low (0.5) or a high dose (5 ng/kg). We studied the firing pattern and recruitment order in abducens neurons both in control and after TeNT injection. The eye position threshold for recruitment of control abducens neurons was exponentially related to the eye position and velocity sensitivities. We also found a constancy of recruitment threshold for different eye movement modalities (spontaneous, optokinetic, and vestibular). Exponential relationships were found, as well, for eye velocity sensitivity during saccades and for position and velocity sensitivities during the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Likewise, inverse relationships were found between recruitment threshold or position sensitivity with the antidromic latency in control abducens neurons. These relationships, however, did not apply following TeNT treatment. Neuronal firing after TeNT appeared either disinhibited (low dose) or depressed (high dose), but the relationships between neuronal sensitivities and recruitment still applied. However, the pattern of recruitment shifted toward the treated side as more inputs were blocked by the low- and high-dose treatments, respectively. Nonetheless, although the recruitment-to-sensitivity relationships persisted under the TeNT synaptic blockade, we conclude that synaptic inputs are determinant for establishing the recruitment threshold and recruitment spacing of abducens motoneurons and internuclear neurons.

Integration of synaptic and intrinsic dendritic currents in cat spinal motoneurons

The results of recent studies designed to reveal some of the 'rules' governing the integration of synaptic and intrinsic dendritic currents in spinal motoneurons are reviewed. When two or more sources of synaptic input are activated concurrently, their combined postsynaptic effects on cat spinal motoneurons with 'passive dendrites' are generally equal to or slightly less than those predicted from the linear sum of their individual effects. However, for experimental preparations in which active conductances on motoneuron dendrites are enabled, instances of greater-than- or less-than linear summation can occur. Further, these studies demonstrate that the persistent inward currents that are generated by motoneuron dendrites provide an intrinsic source of excitatory drive that is larger than those associated with any of the individual synaptic input systems studied to date. Since these intrinsic depolarizing currents can be rapidly inactivated by a hyperpolarizing input, they are ideally suited to providing a major source of the alternating 'drive' to motoneurons during locomotion.

Input-output functions of mammalian motoneurons

Our intent in this review was to consider the relationship between the biophysical properties of motoneurons and the mechanisms by which they transduce the synaptic inputs they receive into changes in their firing rates. Our emphasis has been on experimental results obtained over the past twenty years, which have shown that motoneurons are just as complex and interesting as other central neurons. This work has shown that motoneurons are endowed with a rich complement of active dendritic conductances, and flexible control of both somatic and dendritic channels by endogenous neuromodulators. Although this new information requires some revision of the simple view of motoneuron input-output properties that was prevalent in the early 1980's (see sections 2.3 and 2.10), the basic aspects of synaptic transduction by motoneurons can still be captured by a relatively simple input-output model (see section 2.3, equations 1-3). It remains valid to describe motoneuron recruitment as a product of the total synaptic current delivered to the soma, the effective input resistance of the motoneuron and the somatic voltage threshold for spike initiation (equations 1 and 2). However, because of the presence of active channels activated in the subthreshold range, both the delivery of synaptic current and the effective input resistance depend upon membrane potential. In addition, activation of metabotropic receptors by achetylcholine, glutamate, noradrenaline, serotonin, substance P and thyrotropin releasing factor (TRH) can alter the properties of various voltage- and calcium-sensitive channels and thereby affect synaptic current delivery and input resistance. Once motoneurons are activated, their steady-state rate of repetitive discharge is linearly related to the amount of injected or synaptic current reaching the soma (equation 3). However, the slope of this relation, the minimum discharge rate and the threshold current for repetitive discharge are all subject to neuromodulatory control. There are still a number of unresolved issues concerning the control of motoneuron discharge by synaptic inputs. Under dynamic conditions, when synaptic input is rapidly changing, time- and activity-dependent changes in the state of ionic channels will alter both synaptic current delivery to the spike-generating conductances and the relation between synaptic current and discharge rate. There is at present no general quantitative expression for motoneuron input-output properties under dynamic conditions. Even under steady-state conditions, the biophysical mechanisms underlying the transfer of synaptic current from the dendrites to the soma are not well understood, due to the paucity of direct recordings from motoneuron dendrites. It seems likely that resolving these important issues will keep motoneuron afficiandoes well occupied during the next twenty years.

Summation of effective synaptic currents and firing rate modulation in cat spinal motoneurons

The aim of this study was to examine how cat spinal motoneurons integrate the synaptic currents generated by the concurrent activation of large groups of presynaptic neurons. We obtained intracellular recordings from cat triceps surae motoneurons and measured the effects of repetitive activity in different sets of presynaptic neurons produced by electrical stimulation of descending fibers or peripheral nerves and by longitudinal vibration of the triceps surae muscles (to activate primary muscle spindle Ia afferent fibers). We combined synaptic activation with subthreshold injected currents to obtain estimates of effective synaptic currents at the resting potential (I(Nrest)) and at the threshold for repetitive discharge (I(Nthresh)). We then superimposed synaptic activation on suprathreshold injected current steps to measure the synaptically evoked change in firing rate. We studied eight different pairs of synaptic inputs. When any two synaptic inputs were activated concurrently, both the effective synaptic currents (I(Nrest)) and the synaptically evoked changes in firing rate generally were equal to or slightly less than the linear sum of the effects produced by activating each input alone. However, there were several instances in which the summation was substantially less than linear. In some motoneurons, we induced a partial blockade of potassium channels by adding tetraethylammonium (TEA) or cesium to the electrolyte solution in the intracellular pipette. In these cells, persistent inward currents were evoked by depolarization that led to instances of substantially greater-than linear summation of injected and synaptic currents. Overall our results indicate that the spatial distribution of synaptic boutons on motoneurons acts to minimize electrical interactions between synaptic sites permitting near linear summation of synaptic currents. However, modulation of voltage-gated conductances on the soma and dendrites of the motoneuron can lead to marked nonlinearities in synaptic integration.

Synaptic integration in spinal motoneurones

Spinal motoneurones receive thousands of presynaptic excitatory and inhibitory synaptic contacts distributed throughout their dendritic trees. Despite this extensive convergence, there have been very few studies of how synaptic inputs interact in mammalian motoneurones when they are activated concurrently. In the experiments reported here, we measured the effective synaptic currents and the changes in firing rate evoked in cat spinal motoneurones by concurrent repetitive activation of two separate sets of presynaptic neurons. We compared these effects to those predicted by a linear sum of the effects produced by activating each set of presynaptic neurons separately. We generally found that when two inputs were activated concurrently, both the effective synaptic currents and the synaptically-evoked changes in firing rate they produced in motoneurones were generally linear, or slightly less than the linear sum of the effects produced by activating each input alone. The results suggest that the spatial distribution synaptic terminals on the dendritic trees of motoneurones may help isolate synapses from one another, minimizing non-linear interactions.

Distribution of effective synaptic currents in cat triceps surae motoneurons. VI. Contralateral pyramidal tract

We measured the effective synaptic currents (IN) produced by stimulating the contralateral pyramidal tract (PT) in triceps surae motoneurons of the cat. This is an oligosynaptic pathway in the cat that generates both excitation and inhibition in hindlimb motoneurons. We also determined the effect of the PT synaptic input on the discharge rate of some of the motoneurons by inducing repetitive firing with long, injected current pulses during which the PT stimulation was repeated. At resting potential, all but one triceps motoneuron received a net depolarizing effective synaptic current from the PT stimulation. The effective synaptic currents (IN) were much larger in putative type F motoneurons than in putative type S motoneurons [+4.6 +/- 2.9 (SD) nA for type F vs. 0.9 +/- 2.4 nA for putative type S]. When the values of IN at the threshold for repetitive firing were estimated, the distribution was markedly altered. More than 60% of the putative type S motoneurons received a net hyperpolarizing effective synaptic current from the pyramidal tract stimulation as did 33% of the putative type F motoneurons. This distribution pattern is very similar to that observed previously for the effective synaptic currents produced by stimulating the contralateral red nucleus. As would be expected from the wide range of IN values at threshold (-4.8 to +8.7 nA), the PT stimulation produced dramatically different effects on the discharge of different triceps motoneurons. The discharge rates of those motoneurons that received depolarizing effective synaptic currents at threshold were accelerated by PT stimulation (+1 to +8 imp/s), whereas the discharge rates of cells that received hyperpolarizing currents were retarded by the PT input (-2 to -7 imp/s). The change in firing rates produced by the PT stimulation was generally approximated by the product of the effective synaptic currents and the slopes of the motoneurons' frequency-current relations. Our findings indicate that the contralateral pyramidal tract may provide a powerful source of synaptic drive to some high-threshold motoneurons while concurrently inhibiting low-threshold cells. Thus this input system, like that from the contralateral red nucleus, can potentially alter the gain of the input-output function of the motoneuron pool as well as disrupt the normal hierarchy of recruitment thresholds.

Simulated recruitment of medial rectus motoneurons by abducens internuclear neurons: synaptic specificity vs. intrinsic motoneuron properties

Ocular motoneuron firing rate is linearly related to conjugate eye position with slope K above recruitment threshold theta. Within the population of ocular motoneurons K increases as theta increases. These differences in firing rate between motoneurons might be determined either by the intrinsic properties of the motoneurons, or by differences in synaptic input to them, or by a combination of the two. This question was investigated by simulating the input signal to medial rectus motoneurons (MR-MNs) from internuclear neurons of the abducens nucleus (INNs). INNs were represented as input nodes in a two-layer neural net, each with weighted connections to every output node representing an MR-MN. Individual simulated MR-MNs were assigned parameters corresponding to an intrinsic current threshold I(R) and an intrinsic frequency-current (f-I) slope gamma. Their firing rates were calculated from these parameters, together with the effective synaptic current produced by their synaptically weighted INN inputs, with the use of assumptions employed in computer simulations of spinal motoneuron pools. The experimentally observed firing rates of MR-MNs served as training data for the net. The following two training conditions were used: 1) synaptic weights were fixed and the intrinsic parameters of the MR-MNs were allowed to vary, corresponding to the situation in which each MR-MN receives a common synaptic drive and 2) intrinsic MR-MN properties were fixed and synaptic weights were allowed to vary. In each case, the varying quantities were trained with a form of gradient descent error reduction. The simulations revealed the following three problems with the common-drive model: 1) the recruitment of INNs produced nonlinear responses in MR-MNs with low thetas; 2) the range of I(R)s required to reproduce the observed range of theta were generally larger than those measured experimentally for cat ocular motoneurons; and 3) the intrinsic f-I slope gamma increased with I(R). Experimental data from cat indicate that gamma decreases with I(R). When synaptic weights were allowed to vary, all three problems with the common-drive model were overcome. This required MR-MNs receiving selective input from INNs with similar firing rate thresholds. These results suggest that the differences in firing rate properties among MR-MNs in relation to steady-state eye position cannot be derived from their intrinsic properties alone but result at least partly from differences in their synaptic inputs. An MR-MN's individual set of synaptic inputs constitutes, in effect, a premotor receptive field.