HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 95/2/979    most recent 00760.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kaneko, C. R. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kaneko, C. R. S.

Saccade-Related, Long-Lead Burst Neurons in the Monkey Rostral Pons

Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Submitted 19 July 2005; accepted in final form 17 October 2005

The paramedian pontine reticular formation contains the premotoneuronal cell groups that constitute the saccadic burst generator and control saccadic eye movements. Despite years of study and numerous investigations, the rostral portion of this area has received comparatively little attention, particularly the cell type known as long-lead burst neurons (LLBNs). Several hypotheses about the functional role of LLBNs in saccade generation have been proposed, although there is little information with which to assess them. To address this issue, I mapped and recorded LLBNs in the rostral pons to measure their discharge characteristics and correlate those characteristics with the metrics of the concurrent saccades. On the basis of their discharge and location, I identified three types of LLBNs in the rostral pons: excitatory (eLLBN), dorsal (dLLBN), and nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (nrtp) LLBNs. The eLLBNs, encountered throughout the pons, discharge for ipsilateral saccades in proportion to saccade amplitude, velocity, and duration. The dLLBNs, found at the pontomesencephalic junction, discharge maximally for ipsilateral saccades of a particular amplitude, usually <10°, and are not associated with a particular anatomical nucleus. The nrtp LLBNs, previously described as vector LLBNs, discharge for saccades of a particular direction and sometimes a particular amplitude. The discharge of the eLLBNs suggests they drive motor neurons. The anatomical projections of the nrtp LLBNs suggest that their involvement in saccade production is less direct. The discharge of dLLBNs is consistent with a role in providing the "trigger" signal that initiates saccades.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. A. Cromer and D. M. Waitzman Comparison of Saccade-Associated Neuronal Activity in the Primate Central Mesencephalic and Paramedian Pontine Reticular Formations J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2007; 98(2): 835 - 850. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Prsa and H. L. Galiana Visual-Vestibular Interaction Hypothesis for the Control of Orienting Gaze Shifts by Brain Stem Omnipause Neurons J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2007; 97(2): 1149 - 1162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. K. Rodgers, D. P. Munoz, S. H. Scott, and M. Pare Discharge Properties of Monkey Tectoreticular Neurons J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2006; 95(6): 3502 - 3511. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]