Morphophysiology of Pre-Nuclear Oculomotor Neurons

描述(申请人提供)：将利用行为学、电生理学、神经化学和形态学技术研究松鼠猴子前庭-眼反射适应性可塑性的神经基础。使用视觉-前庭不匹配刺激和/或将镜片缩小或放大放在动物眼前的眼镜架上，将适应前庭-眼睛反射。我们将利用正常和适应的前庭-眼反射作为探针来阐明小脑绒毛浦肯野细胞和脑干神经元的放电调制特性。以前的工作表明，前庭-眼睛反射学习和记忆有多个大脑部位，即小脑和脑干。我们将使用范例对比新的VOR增益的获取、巩固和记忆，旨在阐明这些位置中的哪些编码信号可能是观察到的行为的原因。我们将分析定位神经积分器的速度在这种可塑性中的作用。我们将确定小脑皮质中间神经元(例如高尔基细胞)在塑造通过小脑皮质的信息流中的作用。我们将评估学习在任何自适应系统中进行所需的潜在错误信号。我们的实验将提供新的数据来帮助理解学习和记忆的神经基础，并将导致构建小脑和脑干神经元在VOR增益获得和记忆中的作用的数学模型。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The neural basis of adaptive plasticity of the vestibulo-ocular reflex will be studied utilizing behavioral, electrophysiological, neurochemical and morphological techniques in squirrel monkeys. Employing visual-vestibular mismatch stimuli and/or miniaturizing or magnifying lenses placed in a spectacle mount in front of the animals' eyes will adapt the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Both the normal and adapted vestibulo-ocular reflex will be utilized as probes to elucidate the properties of discharge modulation of cerebellar floccular Purkinje cells and brainstem neurons. Previous work suggested that there are multiple brain sites for vestibulo-ocular reflex learning and memory, namely in the cerebellum and brainstem. We will employ paradigms contrasting the acquisition, consolidation and memory of novel VOR gains designed to elucidate which of these sites encode signals that might be causal to the observed behaviors. We will analyze the role of the velocity to position neural integrator in this plasticity. We will determine the role of cerebellar cortical interneurons (e.g. Golgi cells) in shaping the information flow through the cerebellar cortex. We will evaluate potential error signals necessary for learning to proceed in any adaptive system. Our experiments should provide new data to aid in the understanding of the neural basis of learning and memory and will lead to the construction of mathematical models of the actions of cerebellar and brainstem neurons in the acquisition and memory of VOR gain.