MODALITY AND TOPOGRAPHIC PROPERTIES OF SINGLE NEURONS OF CATS SOMATIC SENSORY CORTEX
MODALITY AND TOPOGRAPHIC PROPERTIES OF SINGLE NEURONS OF CATS SOMATIC SENSORY CORTEX
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DOI：
10.1152/jn.1957.20.4.408
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发表时间：
1957-01-01
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
MOUNTCASTLE, VB
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
MOUNTCASTLE, VB
用单单位分析法研究了躯体感觉皮层神经元的形态和拓扑学特征。所有观察到的神经元都被周围组织的机械变形激活。在这一广泛的形态类别中，观察到3个不同的亚组：通过毛发运动激活的细胞;通过皮肤上的压力激活的细胞;以及通过深部组织的机械变形激活的细胞。未见神经元可分为1个以上亚群。所有这些都只通过刺激身体的对侧来激活。与皮肤相关的两组神经元表现出不同的放电特性：对毛发运动有反应的神经元适应迅速;受皮肤压力驱动的神经元继续稳定地放电到稳定的刺激。在所有细胞层中均发现属于每个亚组的细胞。在84%的垂直穿透细胞层，所有遇到的神经元属于皮肤或深亚群。对于任何给定的地形区域，这些特定于模态的垂直单元列都是混合的。与深部结构相关的细胞从深筋膜和结缔组织以及关节和关节囊区域被激活，但从未从肌肉中激活。由关节运动驱动的位置传感器发出关节位置的稳定位置和相位变化的信号，并适当地布置以辅助位置感测。成对的紧密相邻的细胞对交替的关节运动做出反应，这是一种相互传入神经支配的形式。直接测量的周边感受野的大小发挥皮质神经元。它们的大小与背根纤维、背柱核细胞或丘脑神经元的大小相当。描述了皮层神经元的传入抑制的一种形式，即皮层神经元的外周兴奋性场周围的外周抑制性场。这些数据，以及皮层细胞放电特性的数据（19），被用于讨论感觉定位、两点辨别以及模式和轮廓识别的神经相关性，其基础是部分移位的相互重叠，而不是具有绝缘中央投射的模式化感觉镶嵌。在垂直穿越皮层时遇到的神经元从几乎相同的外周感受野激活，平均而言，外周感受野不是皮层内细胞深度位置的函数。这些事实支持了一个假设，即大脑皮层的基本组织模式是一个垂直定向的细胞柱或圆柱体，能够执行相当复杂的输入-输出功能，独立于活动的水平内部传播。
The modality and topographical attributes of the neurons of the somatic sensory cortex were studied by the method of single unit analysis. All the neurons observed were activated by mechanical deformation of some peripheral tissue. Within this broad modality class 3 distinct subgroups were seen: cells activated by movement of hairs; by pressure upon the skin; and by mechanical deformation of deep tissues. No neuron was ever seen which could be classified in more than 1 subgroup. All were activated by stimulation of the contralateral side of the body only. The 2 groups of neurons related to the skin showed different discharge properties: those responsive to hair movement adapting quickly; those driven by pressure upon the skin continuing to discharge steadily to a steady stimulus. Cells belonging to each subgroup were found in all of the cellular layers. In 84% of penetrations across the cellular layers which were directed perpendicularly, all the neurons encountered belonged to either cutaneous or deep subgroups. These modality-specific vertical columns of cells are intermingled for any given topographical region. Cells related to deep structures were activated from deep fascia and connective tissue and the regions of the joints and joint capsules, but never from muscle. Those driven by joint movement signal the steady position and phasic changes in positions of joints, and are suitably arranged to subserve position sense. Pairs of closely adjacent cells were seen to respond reciprocally to alternating joint movements, a form of reciprocal afferent innervation. Direct measurements of the size of the peripheral receptive fields playing upon cortical neurons were made. They are comparable in size to those related to dorsal root fibers, cells of the dorsal column nuclei, or the thalamic neurons. A form of afferent inhibition of cortical neurons is described, the peripheral inhibitory field surrounding the peripheral excitatory field of cortical neurons. These data, together with those on the discharge properties of cortical cells (19), are used in a discussion of the neural correlates of sensory localization, 2-point discrimination and pattern and contour recognition, on the basis of partially shifted reciprocal overlap rather than on the basis of a patterned sensory mosaic, with insulated central projections. The neurons encountered in a perpendicular traverse of the cortex are activated from almost identical peripheral receptive fields at latencies which on the average are not a function of the position of the cell in depth within the cortex. These facts support an hypothesis that the elementary pattern of organization in the cerebral cortex is a vertically oriented column or cylinder of cells capable of input-output functions of considerable complexity, independent of horizontal intragriseal spread of activity.