Responses of Inferior Olive Neurons to Stimulation of Semicircular Canals

ABSTRACT

In spite of abundant anatomical evidences for the fiber connection between vestibular nuclei and inferior olivary (IO) complex, the transmission of vestibular information through the vestibulo- olivo-cerebellar climbing fiber pathway has not been physiologically established. The aims of the present study were to investigate whether there are IO neurons specifically responding to horizontal rotation and also in which subregions of IO complex these vestibularly-activated neurons are located. The extracellular recording was made in 68 IO neurons and responses of 46 vestibularly-activated cells were analyzed. Most of the vestibularly-activated IO neurons responded to signals of vertical rotation (roll), while a small number (13/46) of recorded cells were activated by horizontal canal signal (yaw). Regardless of yaw-sensitive or roll-sensitive, vestibular IO neurons were excited, when the animal was rotated to the side contralateral to the recording side. The gain and excitation phase were very similar to otolithic or vertical-canal responses. Histologic identification of recording sites showed that most of vestibular IO neurons were located in beta subnucleus. Electrical stimulation of a HSC evoked an inhibitory effect on the excitability of the ipsilateral IO neurons. These results suggest that IO neurons mainly in the beta subnucleus receive vestibular signals from semicircular canals and otolithic organs, encode them, and transmit vestibular information to the cerebellum.