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Visual responses of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus during smooth-pursuit eye movements in monkeys. II. Complex spikes.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Stone, LS; Lisberger, SG
Published in: J Neurophysiol
May 1990

1. We report the complex-spike responses of two groups of Purkinje cells (P-cells). The cell were classified according to their simple-spike firing during smooth eye movements evoked by visual and vestibular stimuli with the use of established criteria (Lisberger and Fuchs 1978; Stone and Lisberger 1990). During pursuit with the head fixed, ipsi gaze-velocity P-cells (GVP-cells) showed increased simple-spike firing when gaze moved toward the side of the recording, whereas down GVP-cells showed increased simple-spike firing when gaze moved downward. 2. During pursuit of sinusoidal target motion, the complex-spike firing rate was modulated out-of-phase with the simple-spike firing rate. Ipsi GVP-cells showed increased complex-spike firing during pursuit away from the side of the recording, and down GVP-cells showed increased complex-spike firing during upward pursuit. The strength of the complex-spike response increased as a function of the frequency of sinusoidal target motion. 3. GVP-cells showed directionally selective complex-spike responses during the initiation of pursuit to ramp target motion. Ipsi GVP-cells had increased complex-spike firing 100 ms after the onset of contralaterally directed target motion and decreased complex-spike activity after the onset of ipsilaterally directed target motion. Down GVP-cells had increased complex-spike firing 100 ms after the onset of upward target motion and decreased firing after the onset of downward target motion. As during sinusoidal target motion, each cell's simple- and complex-spike responses had the opposite directional preferences. 4. When the monkeys fixated a stationary target during a transient vestibular stimulus, the retinal slip caused by the 14-ms latency of the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) affected the complex-spike firing rate. For ipsi GVP-cells, ipsilateral head motion caused transient contralateral image motion and an increase in complex-spike firing. The same vestibular stimulus in darkness caused an almost identical eye movement but had no effect on complex-spike firing. We conclude that complex spikes in ipsi GVP-cells are driven by contralaterally directed image motion. 5. To determine the events surrounding complex-spike firing during pursuit, we triggered averages of eye and target velocity on the occurrence of complex spikes during pursuit of sine-wave target motion. The averages revealed a transient pulse of retinal image motion that peaked approximately 100 ms before the complex spike. We conclude that complex spikes during steady-state pursuit are driven by the retinal slip associated with imperfect pursuit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Neurophysiol

DOI

ISSN

0022-3077

Publication Date

May 1990

Volume

63

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1262 / 1275

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Pathways
  • Reaction Time
  • Pursuit, Smooth
  • Purkinje Cells
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Motion Perception
  • Male
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Macaca
  • Eye Movements
 

Citation

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Stone, L. S., & Lisberger, S. G. (1990). Visual responses of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus during smooth-pursuit eye movements in monkeys. II. Complex spikes. J Neurophysiol, 63(5), 1262–1275. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1990.63.5.1262
Stone, L. S., and S. G. Lisberger. “Visual responses of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus during smooth-pursuit eye movements in monkeys. II. Complex spikes.J Neurophysiol 63, no. 5 (May 1990): 1262–75. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1990.63.5.1262.
Stone, L. S., and S. G. Lisberger. “Visual responses of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus during smooth-pursuit eye movements in monkeys. II. Complex spikes.J Neurophysiol, vol. 63, no. 5, May 1990, pp. 1262–75. Pubmed, doi:10.1152/jn.1990.63.5.1262.

Published In

J Neurophysiol

DOI

ISSN

0022-3077

Publication Date

May 1990

Volume

63

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1262 / 1275

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Pathways
  • Reaction Time
  • Pursuit, Smooth
  • Purkinje Cells
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Motion Perception
  • Male
  • Macaca mulatta
  • Macaca
  • Eye Movements