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Biomedical subjects

G Mandl

Publications and source records attributed to G Mandl.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Coding for stimulus velocity by temporal patterning of spike discharges in visual cells of cat superior colliculus.

Statistical analyses, performed on extracellularly recorded spike trains generated by 69 single motion sensitive visual cells in the intermediate layers of superior colliculi of pretrigeminal cat preparations, revealed that--even in the unstimulated condition (38/69)--most neuronal spike discharge patterns tended to switch between two stochastically distinct states, in the form of rapidly alternating "bursting" (high frequency) and "resting" (low frequency) episodes. The numbers of consecutive interspike intervals within a given state were, as a rule, independent integer-valued random variables with discrete probability distributions, in essential agreement with the semi-Markov model proposed by Ekholm and Hyvärinen [(1970) Biophysical Journal, 10, 773-796]. The introduction of visual stimuli (47/69) moving with velocities of 2-160 deg/sec caused systematic and reproducible changes in the ratio of bursting to resting activities, decreases in overall discharge variability, and increases in signal transinformation flow. Moreover, with one group of stimulated cells (28/47), increasing stimulus velocity caused increasingly precise ("stimulus-forced") synchronization of bursting episodes with specific phases of stimulus movement; while for a smaller group (12/47), stimulus-related alternations between bursting and resting states assumed the form of semi-rhythmical burst discharges within the characteristic 60-80 Hz "gamma oscillation" range ("stimulus-induced" synchronization). For a minority of cells (7/47), switching between bursting and resting states--although characteristically modified by stimulus velocity--remained largely desynchronized with all phases of stimulus transit. It was argued that such temporal patterns of discharge may constitute elements of a candidate "distribution" code for movement detection by the cat visual system.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1985

Responses of visual cells in cat superior colliculus to relative pattern movement.

Are there visual cells in the cat superior colliculus, selectively sensitive to relative pattern movement? Based on extracellular recordings from paralyzed pretrigeminal preparations, a sample of 76 collicular units could be divided into two main types according to relative movement sensitivity: those that responded optimally and selectively to one specific relative velocity between a small disk and a full-field grating; and those that discharged maximally whenever the grating shifted relative to a disk moving at one specific "absolute" speed, regardless of the precise relative velocity between the two. It was hypothesized that the latter group, in conjunction with extraretinal "calibration" cues, may be part of a neural mechanism encoding spatial depth in terms of motion parallax.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1981

Adaptability of the vestibulo-ocular reflex to vision reversal in strobe reared cats.

Optical reversal of vision brings about adaptive changes in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) tending to reduce retinal image slip during head movement. The present experiments investigated this form of adaptation in cats whose complement of direction sensitive central visual cells had been substantially reduced by rearing in 8 Hz stroboscopic light. Horizontal vision reversal was produced by dove prisms carried in a skull-mounted mask. A scleral eye coil was used to measure horizontal eye movements. VOR gain and phase were measured in the dark during sinusoidal rotation using test stimuli of 1/8 Hz and 5- or 20 degrees/sec velocity amplitude. Initially, strobe reared cats produced virtually normal VOR in the dark, except for slight but significant exaggeration of the normal phase advancement to be expected at 1/8 Hz. Addition of their familiar strobe illumination produced almost perfect oculomotor compensation. Maintained vision reversal in both strobe and normal illumination produced similar patterns of adaptive change in normal and strobe reared subjects, i.e. all animals exhibited an initial fast, and subsequent much slower, stage of gain attenuation, with similar changes in phase. Thus, strobe rearing did not prevent the development of an essentially normal VOR, nor did it interfere significantly with the ability to adapt in response to vision reversal. Since strobe rearing depletes direction selective visual movement detectors in the cortex and superior colliculi, it is inferred that signals responsible for activating the adaptive process are probably carried mainly in the accessory optic, rather than cortical and collicular, visual system.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Eye oscillations in strobe reared cats.

Cats reared from birth in stroboscopic illumination develop abnormal spontaneous eye oscillations of low amplitude. The present experiments were undertaken to define these eye movements as recorded in the dark, in stroboscopic light of various frequencies, after exposure to normal light and after attenuation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain by optical reversal of vision. The interaction of spontaneous eye oscillations with voluntary saccadic eye movements, and optokinetic tracking (OKN), were also studied. Two cats, reared from birth to 18 months in 8 Hz strobe light, and one normally reared control animal, were used. Horizontal movement of the right eye was measured by the scleral eye coil method. The frequency content of eye movement records was determined by power spectral analysis. VOR gain was estimated in the dark, by rotating the animals sinusoidally at 1/8 Hz and 5 degrees/sec velocity amplitude. In the dark, both strobe reared cats had abnormal spontaneous eye oscillations at a frequency close to 8 Hz, with peak-to-peak amplitudes of 0.5--1.0 degrees. These abnormal eye movements did not interfere with, nor were they abolished by, normal oculomotor activity. The introduction of strobe light modified the spontaneous eye movements by entraining the oscillations at a given 'forcing' frequency, and by producing a number of harmonics or sub-harmonics. In one of the strobe reared animals, the effect of normal light was to reduce the characteristic 'dark' value of 9 Hz, to a new maintained 'light' value of 2.7 Hz. Adaptive attenuation of the VOR gain caused the abolition of regular spontaneous eye oscillations in the dark; nevertheless, transient oscillations to single strobe flashes could still be elicited in the VOR adapted condition. The results are interpreted as representing an organised attempt by the developing oculomotor system to attain the goal of stable visual perception in a new visual environment.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Nitrous oxide modifies visual responses in the cat retina, striate cortex and superior colliculus.

Extracellular records from 54 single cells in cat optic tract (14), visual cortex (18) and superior colliculus (22), have shown that ventilation of acute animals with a 70%: 30% mixture of N2O/O2 can modify unit responses to visual stimuli. Results indicate that, under nitrous oxide, (a) responses to flashed or moving stimuli may be severely reduced, and frequently abolished. This may be accompanied by either a sharp decrease; or, conversely, by a dramatic increase, in the resting discharge rate; (b) the degree of directional preference of a given unit, in response to a moving visual stimulus, may be substantially modified; (c) the temporal distribution of unit firing may be modified. While about half (57%) of the units in the optic tract were affected by N2O, only 28% of cortical cells showed any N2O-related response modification. The largest effect was observed in the superior colliculus, where 86% of cells were influenced by the anaesthetic. It is suggested that these results might be explained by a selective interference of N2O with serotonergic transmitter mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Frontal 'oculomotor" area in alert cat. I. Eye movements and neck activity evoked by stimulation.

(1) Stimulation within cat frontal lobe elicited saccadic eye movements whose maximum velocity was significantly greater than that of normal spontaneous saccades. (2) The majority (90%) of stimulated cortical points yielded eye movements whose directions and amplitudes were independent of the position of the eye in the orbit. The direction of these eye movements depended on the site being stimulated, with a discrete and orderly representation of directions existing within the cortex. (3) A lesser number of cortical points (10%) yielded centering movements whose directions and amplitudes depended on the position of the eye in the orbit, rather than on the site being stimulated. (4) Evoked neck muscle activation frequently preceded evoked eye movements by some 15--30 msec. This timing was compatible with a coordinated head-eye orientating response. (5) On the basis of the directions, and the latencies, of evoked eye movements, the cat frontal oculomotor area could be divided into two subregions, a 'medial' and a 'lateral', (6) The 'medial' area included the mesial wall of the hemisphere with a portion of the lower lip of the cruciate sulcus, and the medial wall of the presylvian sulcus. This area yielded contraversive eye movements with shorter latencies (average 45 msec). (7) The 'lateral' area included primarily the lateral wall of the presylvian sulcus. It yielded predominantly centering eye movements, and ipsiversive movements with longer latencies (65 msec). (8) The functional characteristics of the 'medial' area, as revealed by focal stimulation, resembled those of the monkey frontal eye field.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Frontal 'oculomotor' area in alert cat. II. Unit discharges associated with eye movements and neck muscle activity.

(1) Unit activity in front 'oculomotor' cortex was recorded extracellularly from sites where subsequent electrical stimulation, using threshold current (50 microamperes), could elicit both eye movements and simultaneous neck EMG acitivity. (2) Of 103 cells, 19% were related to either eye movements or neck EMG activity. Cells could be grouped into three categories: (a) Directional (D) cells (31%) discharged before and during saccadic eye movements, whenever the eyes followed a target in one specific direction. Spontaneous saccades, or vestibularly driven nystagmus, in either the light or dark, elicited no responses. (b) Conditionally directional (CD) cells (43%) discharged following (i) tracking saccades; (ii) spontaneous saccades and (iii) the quick phase of nystagmus, in all directions. There usually was a slight discharge preference for one given direction, and this preference was enhanced whenever visual tracking was restricted to the preferred direction. One-third of CD cells responded to stimulation of the contralateralal biventer cervicis neck muscle (min lat. 20 msec). (c) Neck EMG (N) cells (26%) discharged in association with, and preceding, changes in neck muscle activity. These cells also responded to stimulation of the contralateral biventer cervicis muscle (min lat. 10 msec). (3) For points in the lateral 'oculomotor' region (as defined by stimulation: see ref. 17), the directions of evoked saccades, and the directions of spontaneous saccades associated with unit discharges, were sililar. In the medial region 17, the directions of evoked saccades were roughly opposite to the directions of spontaneous eye movements favoured by unit discharges.

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