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1 LNRS, CNRS, Paris, France
2 The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: auno{at}ent.med.osaka-u.ac.jp.
In vitro intracellular recordings of central vestibular neurons have been restricted so far to the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN). We performed intracellular recordings of large Deiters neurons in the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) to determine their static and dynamic membrane properties, and compare them with those of type A and B neurons identified in the MVN. Unlike MVN neurons, the giant-sized LVN neurons form a homogeneous population of cells characterized by sharp spikes, a low-amplitude, biphasic after-hyperpolarization like type B MVN neurons, but also an A-like rectification like type A MVN neurons. In accordance with their lower membrane resistance, the sensitivity of LVN neurons to current injection was lower than that of MVN neurons over a large range of frequencies. The main difference between LVN and MVN neurons was that the Bode plots showing the sensitivity of LVN neurons as a function of stimulation frequency were flatter than those of MVN neurons, and displayed a weaker resonance. Furthermore, most LVN neurons did not show a gradual decrease of their firing rate modulation in the frequency range where it was observed in MVN neurons. LVN neurons synchronized their firing with the depolarizing phase of high-frequency sinusoidal current injections. In vivo studies have shown that the MVN would be mainly involved in gaze control, while the giant LVN neurons that project to the spinal cord are involved in the control of posture. We suggest that the difference in the membrane properties of LVN and MVN neurons may reflect their specific physiological roles.
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