Sensory response of cortical neurons in the anterior ectosylvian sulcus, including the area evoking eye movement.
The deep cortical tissue in the caudal portion of the anterior ectosylvian sulcus (AES) of cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose was explored to examine the sensory response properties of neurons in this area, which is known to contain an area evoking eye movement. Of 873 neurons isolated, 262 (30.0%) were multimodal, i.e. responsive to two or more of the stimulus modalities of visual, auditory, or somatic. The ratio of multimodal neurons to total neurons in the eye-movement-evoking area was significantly larger than this ratio in other areas; 79 (39.5%) of 200 neurons in the eye-movement-evoking area were multimodal, while 183 (27.2%) of 673 neurons in other areas were multimodal. Neuronal minimal latency in response to visual stimulation was widely and bimodally distributed, showing two peaks at 35 ms and 60 ms, whereas latencies to auditory and somatic stimulation were narrowly distributed, with one peak at 10 ms and 15 ms, respectively. There was no remarkable difference either between unimodal neurons and multimodal neurons or between the neurons in the eye-movement-evoking area and those in other areas in distribution of latency. That there was a significant difference in ratio of multimodal to total neurons between the eye movement area and other areas suggests that some convergence or integration of different kinds of sensory input in relation to eye movement might be carried out in the caudal portion of the AES.
Kimura
A
A
Department of Physiology, Wakayama Medical College, Japan.
Tamai
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002415:Cats; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012677:Sensation; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology