Involvement of cerebellar cortex and nuclei in the genesis and control of unconditioned and conditioned eyelid motor responses.
The eyelid motor system of the cat was used here for the study of the kinetic properties of reflex and conditioned lid movements, and of the role played by the cerebellum in the acquisition and/or performance of both types of motor responses. Spontaneous blinks, eyelid reflex responses, eye-guided lid movements and conditioned lid responses were recorded in alert cats in simultaneity with unitary and field electrical activity of cerebellar cortex and nuclear zones related to the eyelid motor system. Results indicate that nuclear unitary activity does not precede unconditioned or conditioned lid responses, but that cerebellar nuclei are directly involved in the performance of the late components of reflex lid movements and in the acquisition of conditioned lid responses.
Gruart
A
A
Laboratorio de Neurociencia, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain.
Pastor
A M
AM
Armengol
J A
JA
Delgado-García
J M
JM
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology*; D002415:Cats; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002529:Cerebellar Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005143:Eyelids / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology