title: Central projections of the vestibular nerve: a review and single fiber study in the Mongolian gerbil.
abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to review the anatomy of central projections of the vestibular nerve in amniotes. We also report primary data regarding the central projections of individual horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-filled afferents innervating the saccular macula, horizontal semicircular canal ampulla, and anterior semicircular canal ampulla of the gerbil. In total, 52 characterized primary vestibular afferent axons were intraaxonally injected with HRP and traced centrally to terminations. Lateral and anterior canal afferents projected most heavily to the medial and superior vestibular nuclei. Saccular afferents projected strongly to the spinal vestibular nucleus, weakly to other vestibular nuclei, to the interstitial nucleus of the eighth nerve, the cochlear nuclei, the external cuneate nucleus, and nucleus y. The current findings reinforce the preponderance of literature. The central distribution of vestibular afferents is not homogeneous. We review the distribution of primary afferent terminations described for a variety of mammalian and avian species. The tremendous overlap of the distributions of terminals from the specific vestibular nerve branches with one another and with other sensory inputs provides a rich environment for sensory integration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0521, USA. sdnewlan@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Shawn D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Newlands
authors.forename: Adrian A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Perachio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005849:Gerbillinae; D006652:Histological Techniques / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D009445:Neuroanatomy / Q000266:history; D014725:Vestibular Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase