Saccade-Related, Long-Lead Burst Neurons in the Monkey Rostral Pons

• Published in: Journal of neurophysiology 2006-02, Vol.95 (2), p.979-994
• Main Author: Kaneko, Chris R. S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Action Potentials - physiology; Adaptation, Physiological - physiology; Animals; Biological Clocks - physiology; Macaca mulatta - physiology; Male; Neural Inhibition - physiology; Neurons - cytology; Neurons - physiology; Pons - cytology; Pons - physiology; Saccades - physiology; Time Factors; Visual Pathways - cytology; Visual Pathways - physiology
• ISSN: 0022-3077; 1522-1598
• DOI: 10.1152/jn.00760.2005

Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington Submitted 19 July 2005; accepted in final form 17 October 2005 The paramedian pontine reticular formation contains the premotoneuronal cell groups that constitute the saccadic burst generator and control saccadic eye movements. Despite years of study and numerous investigations, the rostral portion of this area has received comparatively little attention, particularly the cell type known as long-lead burst neurons (LLBNs). Several hypotheses about the functional role of LLBNs in saccade generation have been proposed, although there is little information with which to assess them. To address this issue, I mapped and recorded LLBNs in the rostral pons to measure their discharge characteristics and correlate those characteristics with the metrics of the concurrent saccades. On the basis of their discharge and location, I identified three types of LLBNs in the rostral pons: excitatory (eLLBN), dorsal (dLLBN), and nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (nrtp) LLBNs. The eLLBNs, encountered throughout the pons, discharge for ipsilateral saccades in proportion to saccade amplitude, velocity, and duration. The dLLBNs, found at the pontomesencephalic junction, discharge maximally for ipsilateral saccades of a particular amplitude, usually