Cellular Analysis of the Vestibulo-Occular Reflex

项目摘要 这项研究的长期目标是了解细胞和分子 光滑眼正常表现和适应性可塑性的调节机制 动静。视动反射(OKR)通过以下方式防止自我运动过程中的视觉模糊 产生平滑的眼球运动，以补偿全场图像运动。神经元 可塑性机制使OKR能够适应发展、创伤、 和疾病。尽管特定类别的神经元在信号传递中的作用 已经确定了转化和可塑性，但对细胞如何 机制有助于提高企业的日常表现和适应能力 OKR等眼球运动顺畅。拟议研究的目标是 阐明小脑活动如何影响不同类别的信号和可塑性 负责眼球平稳运动的脑干神经元。中心假设是 小脑和视觉通路突触到前庭核和前庭核 舌下前置区神经元对快速起始的不同负责 保持顺畅眼球运动的组成部分。拟议的研究将检查 小脑活动对运动视觉刺激诱发眼动的影响。 脑干切片制备中的细胞和突触生理实验将 检查小脑和视觉突触的短期和长期动态 小脑受体神经元，介导小脑对信号和信号的影响 顺畅眼球运动的可塑性。不同类别的小脑目标神经元将是 通过轴突投射和小脑突触细胞终末的模式来识别。 视觉通路和小脑突触活动的影响将在 前庭核团和前庭核团中的小脑靶神经元。这些研究将 为有针对性的研究分子机制提供基础 调节眼球平稳运动以及用于小脑的药物治疗 引起眼球震颤的眼球运动障碍。

Project Summary The long-range goal of this research is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate the normal performance and adaptive plasticity of smooth eye movements. The optokinetic reflex (OKR) prevents blurred vision during self-motion by producing smooth eye movements that compensate for full field image motion. Neuronal mechanisms of plasticity enable the OKR to adapt in the face of development, trauma, and disease. Although the roles of particular classes of neurons to signal transformations and plasticity have been identified, little is understood about how cellular mechanisms contribute to the day-to-day performance and adaptive capabilities of the OKR and other smooth eye movements. The objective of the proposed research is to elucidate how cerebellar activity influences signaling and plasticity in distinct classes of brainstem neurons responsible for smooth eye movements. The central hypothesis is that cerebellar and visual pathway synapses onto vestibular nucleus and nucleus prepositus hypoglossi neurons are differentially responsible for rapid initiation vs maintained components of smooth eye movements. The proposed research will examine the influence of cerebellar activity on eye movements evoked by moving visual stimuli. Cellular and synaptic physiological experiments in brainstem slice preparations will examine the short and long term dynamics of cerebellar and visual synapses onto cerebellar recipient neurons, which mediate cerebellar influences on signaling and plasticity on smooth eye movements. Distinct classes of cerebellar target neurons will be identified by their axonal projections and patterns of cerebellar synaptic cell terminals. The influence of visual pathway and cerebellar synaptic activity will be examined in cerebellar target neurons in the vestibular and prepositus nuclei. These studies will provide foundations for targeted investigations of the molecular mechanisms that mediate smooth eye movements as well as for pharmacological treatments of cerebellar disorders and of oculomotor disorders that cause nystagmus.