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V L Silakov

Publications and source records attributed to V L Silakov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Effects of reversible inactivation of the primate mesencephalic reticular formation. I. Hypermetric goal-directed saccades.

Single-neuron recording and electrical microstimulation suggest three roles for the mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) in oculomotor control: 1) saccade triggering, 2) computation of the horizontal component of saccade amplitude (a feed-forward function), and 3) feedback of an eye velocity signal from the paramedian zone of the pontine reticular formation (PPRF) to higher structures. These ideas were tested using reversible inactivation of the MRF with pressure microinjection of muscimol, a GABA(A) agonist, in four rhesus monkeys prepared for chronic single-neuron and eye movement recording. Reversible inactivation revealed two subregions of the MRF: ventral-caudal and rostral. The ventral-caudal region, which corresponds to the central MRF, the cMRF, or nucleus subcuneiformis, is the focus of this paper and is located lateral to the oculomotor nucleus and caudal to the posterior commissure (PC). Inactivation of the cMRF produced contraversive, upward saccade hypermetria. In three of eight injections, the velocity of hypermetric saccades was too fast for a given saccade amplitude, and saccade duration was shorter. The latency for initiation of most contraversive saccades was markedly reduced. Fixation was also destabilized with the development of macrosaccadic square-wave jerks that were directed toward a contraversive goal in the hypermetric direction. Spontaneous saccades collected in total darkness were also directed toward the same orbital goal, up and to the contraversive side. Three of eight muscimol injections were associated with a shift in the initial position of the eyes. A contralateral head tilt was also observed in 5 out of 8 caudal injections. All ventral-caudal injections with head tilt showed no evidence of vertical postsaccadic drift. This suggested that the observed changes in head movement and posture resulted from inactivation of the caudal MRF and not spread of the muscimol to the interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC). Evidence of hypermetria strongly supports the idea that the ventral-caudal MRF participates in the feedback control of saccade accuracy. However, development of goal-directed eye movements, as well as a shift in the initial position following some of the cMRF injections, suggest that this region also contributes to the generation of an estimate of target or eye position coded in craniotopic coordinates. Last, the observed reduction in contraversive saccade latency and development of macrosaccadic square-wave jerks supports a role of the MRF in saccade triggering.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of reversible inactivation of the primate mesencephalic reticular formation. II. Hypometric vertical saccades.

Electrical microstimulation and single-unit recording have suggested that a group of long-lead burst neurons (LLBNs) in the mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) just lateral to the interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) (the peri-INC MRF, piMRF) may play a role in the generation of vertical rapid eye movements. Inactivation of this region with muscimol (a GABA(A) agonist) rapidly produced vertical saccade hypometria (6 injections). In three of six injections, there was a marked reduction in the velocity of vertical saccades out of proportion to saccade amplitude (i.e., saccades fell below the main sequence). This was associated with a moderate increase in saccade duration. Inadvertent inactivation of the INC could not account for these observations because vertical, postsaccadic drift was not observed. Similarly, pure downward saccade hypometria, the hallmark of rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF) inactivation, was always preceded by loss of upward saccades in our experiments. We also found a downward and ipsiversive displacement of initial eye position and evidence of a contraversive head tilt following piMRF injections. Saccade latency was shorter after two of six injections. Simulation of a local feedback model provided three possible explanations for vertical saccade hypometria: 1) a shift in the input to the model to request smaller saccades, 2) a reduction of LLBN input to the vertical saccade medium lead burst neurons (MLBNs), or 3) an increase in the gain of the feedback pathway. However, when the second hypothesis was coupled to a shortened duration of the saccade trigger (i.e., the discharge of the omnipause neurons), the physiological observations of piMRF inactivation could be replicated. This suggested that muscimol had targeted structures that provided both long-lead burst activity to the MLBNs in the riMLF and were critical for reactivation of the omnipause neurons. Evidence of markedly reduced vertical saccade amplitude, curved saccade trajectories, increased saccade duration, and saccades that fall below the amplitude/velocity main sequence in these monkeys closely parallels the oculomotor findings of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Central mesencephalic reticular formation (cMRF) neurons discharging before and during eye movements.

1. One hundred twenty neurons were recorded in the central mesencephalic reticular formation (cMRF) of four rhesus monkeys, trained to make visually guided and targeted saccadic eye movements. Eye movements were recorded with the head fixed, using electrooculography (EOG) or subconjunctival scleral search coils. Seventy-six percent (92/120) of cells discharged before and during contraversive visually guided or targeted rapid eye movements, and 76% of these (70/92) responded during contraversive spontaneous saccades in the dark. cMRF neurons had large contraversive movement fields and either a high (> 10 spikes/s) or low background level of spontaneous activity in the dark. The optimal movement vectors (i.e., saccades with greatest response) were predominantly horizontal, although many had a vertical component. Cells with optimal movement vectors within +/- 25 degrees of pure vertical were more rostral in the MRF and were excluded from the analysis. 2. A subgroup of cMRF neurons (31 of 92) that discharged before and during visually guided saccades were examined for visual sensitivity. Slightly less than one-half of these cells (42%, 13/31) were visuomotor units, i.e., they responded to visual targets in the absence of eye movement. The other 58% (n = 18) did not discharge during the visual probe trial; they were movement-related cells. 3. Microstimulation (threshold 40-60 microA at 333 Hz) at the sites of many of these cMRF neurons produced contraversive saccadic eye movements at short latency (< 40 ms). The amplitude and direction of the elicited saccades were similar to the optimal movement vector determined from single-unit recording. This suggested that cMRF cells recorded at the same locus of electrical microstimulation participated in the network responsible for the production and control of rapid eye movements. 4. The 92 saccade-related neurons were divided into two groups on the basis of their background discharge rate. Firing rates for both low background (28%, n = 26) and high background (72%, n = 66) cells increased approximately 30 ms before contraversive saccades and reached a peak discharge just before saccade onset. The low background neurons had either no activity or generated a few spikes just before the end of ipsiversive saccades. The steady rate of discharge (> 10 spikes/s) of high background neurons was inhibited from approximately 20 ms before ipsiversive saccades until just before saccade end. 5. Cells were also subdivided on the basis of how their discharge rates fell at the end of saccades. Clipped cells (38%, n = 35) had activity that fell sharply with saccade offset. Partially clipped cells (62%, n = 57) had persistent firing in the 100 ms following the saccade that was > 20% higher than the firing during the 100 ms before the saccade. 6. Latencies between the 90% point on the rising edge of the peak discharge and the start of the saccade were < or = 5.3 ms for eye movement-related cells in two monkeys. Longer latencies (11-19 ms) were found when measured between the 10% point on the rising edge of the peak discharge and saccade onset. These latencies were equal to or shorter than those obtained for eye movement-related burst neurons in the intermediate and deep layers of the superior colliculus analyzed similarly. Delays between the peak discharge and peak eye velocity were 13.6-15.1 ms for the same group of cMRF eye movement-related cells. These were significantly shorter than the delays measured for eye movement neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) of one of the monkeys. These findings suggest that the buildup discharge of cMRF neurons occurs early enough before saccades to contribute to saccade triggering. The peak discharge, however, occurs with or after the burst in the SC, suggesting that this portion of the discharge serves a function other than saccade triggering. 7. The number of spikes in bursts associated with eye movement was correlated with saccade parameters.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

[A quantitative analysis of primate motor activity in a situation of delayed spatial choice. The individual behavioral reactions].

Speed of movements in food getting responses of baboons, total time of the response, trajectories of the movements and other parameters revealed obvious changes during formation of conditioned activity. The data obtained suggest that many quantitative characteristics of the primate motor activity are specifically related to various aspects of complex behavioral responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

[An analysis of the joint activities of primates in a situation of delayed spatial choice].

A leader-dominant baboon of a couple took practically all the food in the situation of spatial delayed choice. The subdominant baboon managed to get some food, too, using fast changes of behavioral tactics during the experimental session. The obvious negative state of the subdominant baboon resulted in a severe neurotic breakdown. Long delays in the experimental scheme enabled the subdominant to get up to 50% of the food reinforcement due to the dominant baboons mistakes. The role of changes in the tactics of the monkeys is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Functional reorganization in the system of corticotectal connections after unilateral deafferentation of the cortex].

The responses of the cat's collicular neurons to direct stimulation (DCR) of contralateral neocortex were studied in various periods after unilateral dissection of cortico-subcortical connections. The data obtained suggest that, in intact cat's brain, during early hours of postoperative period, and within 1-2 years after the operation, functional specifics of contralateral motor and sensory projections to superior colliculus played a major part in determining basic features of compensatory shifts of the impulse activity of collicular neurons.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1988

[Demonstration of postural asymmetry factors in a hypophyseal tissue culture as affected by the cerebrospinal fluid of cats with unilateral damage to the hemispheric cortex].

It has been experimentally established that special hypophysiotropic factors--precursors of pose asymmetry factors (PAF) are found in the cerebrospinal fluid of donor animals with cortical lesions during the first postoperative hours. These factors, being specific for the location of the cortical lesion in donor animals, appear to be hypophysiotropic peptide substances inducing the production of corresponding PAF by hypophysial cells. The production of certain PAF by the rat hypophysial tissue cultures under the influence of cerebrospinal fluid from cats gives evidence in favour of species nonspecificity of PAF inductors.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

[Effect of the cerebrospinal fluid from animals with motor cortex damage on the compensation of movement disorders].

Recipient rats with unilateral ablation of the motor cortex underwent suboccipital injection of the CSF obtained from donor rats with analogous damages of their motor cortex. The dose 150 microliter of the donor CSF was most effective rendering a considerable improvement of motor functions in the recipient rats. The data obtained suggest an essentially new technique of human brain trauma therapy using injections of donor CSF.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1986

[Changes in the functional characteristics of cells of the Clare-Bishop zone after unilateral partial isolation of the cat neocortex].

Evoked single cell activity in the Clare-Bishop area of the cat neocortex was recorded after partial transection of subcortico-cortical connections. Both functional properties of visual, auditory and somatosensory responsive cells and their responses to electrical stimulation of the primary projection area were studied. A week after transection some neurons in the Clare-Bishop area on the operated site recovered their reactions to applied stimuli. Within the first week the sensitivity of the neurons in the intact hemisphere changed; all the recorded cells reacted to light; 80% of the cells had receptive fields that were situated in the contralateral part of the visual area; 62% of the cells reacted to somatosensory stimuli. A week after the operation the number of responsive cells decreased. The peculiar features of the neuronal compensatory reorganization in the Clare-Bishop area and its role in the recovery of visual function is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

[Long-term reorganization of the neuronal activity in field 7 of the neocortex in the cat after unilateral section of the visual radiation].

Changes in functional characteristics of area 7 cells were studied in cats under semichronic experimental conditions. The experiments were done in various periods of time after unilateral dissection of visual subcortic-cortical fibres. Neuronal responses to visual, auditory, somatic stimuli and electrical stimulation of primary cortical areas were studied in intact and impaired hemispheres. Reappearing of neuronal sensitivity to stimuli of various sensory modalities was found in the partially isolated neocortex. Both the number of cells with local visual receptive fields and averaged receptive field size of the cells increased slowly after the operation. Some suggestions about the nature of plastic changes developing in neuronal nets of the parietal cortex after impairment of subcortico-cortical connections are made.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Synaptic reorganization in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the adult cat following chronic decortication.

The corona radiata containing all geniculo-cortical and cortico-geniculate fibers was transected in adult cats. One year after the operation synaptic architecture of laminae A and A1 of the decorticated LGN was investigated utilizing electron-microscopy and Golgi-EM. It was found that synaptic glomeruli became embedded in heavily gliotic neuropile, which contained the dendrites of surviving relay cells in addition to retinal axons and interneuronal processes. In contrast to the intact LGN, where the relay cell dendrites are exclusively postsynaptic, many morphologically identified relay neuronal dendrites of the decorticated LGN also contained large, round synaptic vesicles associated with distinct presynaptic sites. In 60% of all glomeruli, the large presynaptic dendrites of relay neurons occupied a central position and were postsynaptic to retinal axons and interneuronal dendrites/axons, but were presynaptic to other relay dendrites or interneuronal dendritic profiles. Occasional dendro-dendritic synapses between relay cell processes could be observed in the extraglomerular neuropile. Relay cell presynaptic dendrites formed unequivocal Gray I-type synapses, in accordance with the supposed excitatory character of relay cell output. Since sprouting of extrinsic or intrinsic axons could not be observed after decortication, it is proposed that the partial synaptic reorganization of the LGN was primarily due to the compensatory " axonization " of relay cell dendrites. It is further suggested that the electrophysiologically demonstrated expansion of retinal receptive fields in the chronically decorticated LGN was accomplished by the formation of dendro-dendritic synapses between relay cells and interneurons.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Residual neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus of adult cats following chronic disconnection from the cortex.

Residual neurons following chronic surgical disconnection from the cortex were studied by light and electron microscopy in the dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) of adult cats. One year after operation the volume of the decorticated LGN had shrunken to approximately half that of the control LGN. The number of nerve cells decreased at the same time, to 13-15% of the control, with relatively higher cell loss in A and A1 laminae than in lamina C. The Golgi, Golgi-EM and EM analysis of the residual neurons revealed that they contain two distinct nerve cell types. (1) 55% of all surviving neurons were identified as geniculo-cortical relay cells, while (2) 45% of the persisting nerve cells were interneurons. These data suggest that in the normal LGN of adult cat 7% (or more) of all nerve cells are local interneurons. Finally, those factors which might contribute to the unexpected survival of many relay neurons to the axotomy-caused retrograde degeneration, are considered and discussed.

Animals↗