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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Effects of lidocaine injection in the interpositus nucleus and red nucleus on conditioned behavioral and neuronal responses.

The role of the cerebellum and the red nucleus in the conditioned eyeblink response was assessed, using a combination of reversible lesions and multiple-unit extracellular recording in the awake, behaving rabbit. Lesion, recording, and stimulation experiments have indicated that both of these structures are involved in the performance of learned skeletal muscle responses. The present study sought to distinguish the relative contributions of the interpositus nucleus and the red nucleus to the expression of the learned response by recording behavior-related multiple unit activity in one structure while reversibly inactivating the other via injections of local anesthetic. Results indicate that inactivating either the interpositus or the red nucleus temporarily abolishes the learned eyeblink response. Injection of lidocaine into the interpositus also abolishes the neuronal unit model of the conditioned response in the red nucleus, while injection into the red nucleus does not affect the model in the interpositus. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the red nucleus acts as a relay for motor commands from the cerebellum, and that the plasticity that generates conditioned responses occurs in the cerebellum or an afferent structure.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Effects of diphenylhydantoin on the spontaneous activity of Purkinje, nucleus interpositus, red nucleus and motor cortex cells.

(1) Extracellular multiunit recordings were made of the spontaneous activity in cerebellar Purkinje cells, nucleus interpositus, red nucleus and sensorimotor cortex in acute cat preparations. (2) Changes in this spontaneous neural activity produced by the administration of diphyenylhydantoin (DPH) were studied. DPH was infused i.v., generally at a concentration of 2.5 mg/ml and at a rate varying from 0.08 to 0.48 mg/kg/min. Two different patterns of infusion were used: fixed time, variable rate and variable time, fixed rate. Pulsed doses were also given at intervals of 5--10 min. (3) DPH at a level of 10--20 mg/kg produces a significative initial deceleration in all structures followed by a significative acceleration in the Purkinje cells, nucleus interpositus and red nucleus as a dose of 20--30 mg/kg is reached. Higher levels caused a profound depression of multiunit activity. (4) The activation produced by DPH is oscillatory (3--5/min) in character and is composed of 'trains' which occur at a rate of 20--30/sec with very rapid discharge frequencies (600--800 Hz). (5) A direct significant correlation was found between DPH serum levels and the intravenously administered dose. The activating DPH dose (20--30 mg/kg) corresponded to serum levels of 24--32 micrograms/ml. (6) The possibility is discussed whether the anticonvulsant action of DPH may be due in part to the production of rhythmic oscillatory activity in the cerebello-rubro-olivo-cerebellar ciruit and the depression of the cerebellothalamic-cortical pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Cholinergic innervation of the human striatum, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, and red nucleus.

The anatomical organization of cholinergic markers such as acetylcholinesterase, choline acetyltransferase, and nerve growth factor receptors was investigated in the basal ganglia of the human brain. The distribution of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive axons and varicosities and their relationship to regional perikarya showed that the caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, red nucleus, and subthalamic nucleus of the human brain receive widespread cholinergic innervation. Components of the striatum (i.e., the putamen, caudate, olfactory tubercle, and nucleus accumbens) displayed the highest density of cholinergic varicosities. The next highest density of cholinergic innervation was detected in the red nucleus and subthalamic nucleus. The level of cholinergic innervation was of intermediate density in the globus pallidus and the ventral tegmental area and low in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. Immunoreactivity for nerve growth factor receptors (NGFr) was confined to the cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain and their processes. Axonal immunoreactivity for NGFr was therefore used as a marker for cholinergic projections originating from the basal forebrain (Woolf et al., '89: Neuroscience 30:143-152). Although the vast majority of striatal cholinergic innervation was NGFr-negative and, therefore, intrinsic, the striatum also contained NGFr-positive axons, indicating the existence of an additional cholinergic input from the basal forebrain. This basal forebrain cholinergic innervation was more pronounced in the putamen than in the caudate. The distribution of NGFr-positive axons suggested that the basal forebrain may also project to the globus pallidus but probably not to the subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, or red nucleus. The great majority of cholinergic innervation to these latter three structures and to parts of the globus pallidus appeared to come from cholinergic neurons outside the basal forebrain, most of which are probably located in the upper brainstem. These observations indicate that cholinergic neurotransmission originating from multiple sources is likely to play an important role in the diverse motor and behavioral affiliations that have been attributed to the human basal ganglia.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1990

Age related changes in neuron number in the mouse red nucleus.

The red nucleus of the ASH/TO stain mouse brain was examined at 6, 22, 25, 28 and 31 months of age using quantitative histological techniques. Three types of neurons, large, medium and small, were identified on grounds of size and structural characteristics. The number of large neurons remained constant from 6 to 25 months of age before declining from 385 +/- 24 at 25 months to 126 +/- 12 at 31 months. The number of medium neurons remained constant from 6 to 31 months of age with an overall mean of 1139. The number of small neurons showed a slight decline at 31 months of age. The nuclear diameter of large neurons increased from 14.7 microns at 25 months to 15.6 microns at 28 months and this increase in diameter was statistically significant. The nuclear diameter of neither medium (mean 12.0 microns) nor small neurons (mean 9.6 microns) varied significantly with age.

Aging↗
PubMed1982

An excitatory input to nucleus raphe magnus from the red nucleus in the cat.

In chloralose-anaesthetized cats, with the cerebellum removed, stimulation in the red nucleus excited the majority (60-65%) of neurones in nucleus raphe magnus (NRM), including raphespinal neurones. Evidence was obtained for both monosynaptic and polysynaptic excitation. The projection was confirmed by recording antidromic responses in the red nucleus to stimulation in NRM. It is suggested that the role of NRM in motor control is to inhibit spinal flexion responses to peripheral stimuli so that commands from the red nucleus and other motor control regions may take place without interruption.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Anatomical evidence of a reciprocal connection between the posterior thalamic nucleus and the parvocellular division of the red nucleus in the rat. A combined retrograde and anterograde study.

The functional and anatomical organizations of the magnocellular part of the red nucleus are now well established. Our knowledge of the parvocellular part is, however, more limited. Using both anterograde and retrograde tracing methods, the present study suggests in the rat the existence of a large projection from the posterior thalamic nucleus to the parvocellular part of the red nucleus. In turn, the parvocellular part of the red nucleus sends a weaker projection to the posterior thalamic nucleus. Three different tracers were utilized (horseradish peroxidase alone, horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin and Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin), all of which gave similar results. The posterior thalamic nucleus is known to receive a large proportion of somatosensory afferents. It is suggested, therefore, that in addition to receiving cerebellar and cortical inputs, the parvocellular part of the red nucleus has access to highly integrated somatosensory and/or nociceptive information delivered by the posterior thalamic nucleus.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

[Representation of cutaneous sensitivity in the cat red nucleus].

Responses of the red nucleus neurons to the skin stimulation in unanestethized chronic cats showed most of the neurons to have wide receptive fields with areas stimulation of which caused an extremely intense and stable activation of respective neurons. The somatotopic principle of the cutaneous representation in the red nucleus was revealed. Destruction of the cerebellar nuclei and sensory motor cortex lowered the spontaneous activity of the red nucleus neurons, changed their responses to the skin stimulation, and caused the narrowing and the redistribution of the peripheral receptive fields preserving, however, the somatotopic character of the cutaneous representation in the red nucleus.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The red nucleus and mesencephalic tegmentum in a ranid amphibian: a cytoarchitectonic and HRP connectional study.

Movement control in vertebrates is a complex function that is known to involve several parallel systems. In amphibians, which lack the isocortical structures shown in mammals to initiate and control voluntary movements, supraspinal motor control systems have received surprisingly little attention. Because amphibians lack a corticospinal equivalent, coordination and control of all movement strategies must take place in non-cortical, supraspinal integrating centers. The rubro-cerebello-rubrospinal circuit is likely to represent a major motor control system in such vertebrates. In this anatomical investigation four mesencephalic tegmentospinal projection nuclei are described in ranid amphibians (Rana catesbiana and Rana pipiens): reticular formation, accessory optic complex, interstitial nucleus of Cajal, and the red nucleus. The red nucleus, which shows no distinct somatotopic organization, can be distinguished because it is the only one of the four that is predominantly contralateral in its projections. Horseradish peroxidase injections into the tegmentum and the cerebellum demonstrated that the red nucleus also maintains reciprocal connections with the cerebellum via the deep cerebellar nucleus. These connections could not be localized to any distinct region in the deep cerebellar nuclear mass, suggesting that this represents a single cerebellar recipient nucleus. Thus, anuran amphibians are shown to possess the major pathways that comprise the rubro-cerebello-rubrospinal circuitry in mammals.

Accessory Nerve↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Functional connections between neurons of interpositus nucleus of the cerebellum and the red nucleus.

Patterns of functional connections between individual neurons of nucleus interpositus (IP) of the cerebellum and red nucleus (RN) were examined. This was assessed by cross-correlation of spike trains characterizing interaction between simultaneously recorded neurons. Direct interpositorubral connections were always excitatory in nature: direct inhibition was only found within and not between these nuclei. Shared inputs from common sources outnumber other types of interpositorubral connections. Patterns of connection between IP RN neurons could be influenced by sensorimotor cortex.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1992

A behavioral study of the contributions of cells and fibers of passage in the red nucleus of the rat to postural righting, skilled movements, and learning.

Although the red nucleus consists of cells of origin for the rubro-spinal and rubro-olivary tracts, fibers of passage, including those of the superior cerebellar peduncle, which project from the cerebellum to the ventrolateral thalamus, pass through it. This study examined the relative effect of cell vs. fiber damage in the red nucleus on a number of behaviors thought to involve the red nucleus, including a skilled movement of reaching for food with a forelimb, postural righting on a surface and in the air, and learning a place response in a swimming pool test. Rats received unilateral or bilateral red nucleus lesions, using either the relatively cell-specific neurotoxins, ibotenic and quinolinic acid, or non-specific electrolytic anodal lesions. Both neurotoxic lesions effectively eliminated all red nucleus cell bodies, and in some animals they produced small cavities in the red nucleus and/or loss of cells in adjacent structures. Electrolytic lesions destroyed both cells and fibers, leaving a large cavity. The severity of the behavioral deficits were not related to the loss of red nucleus cells and there was a close relation between fiber damage and behavioral impairments on all of the tasks. The results suggest that for a number of behaviors, which have been thought to involve the red nucleus, impairments are more closely associated with fiber damage or damage to structures outside the red nucleus than they are to damage to cells of the red nucleus.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Loss of neurons in the red nucleus after spinal cord transection.

Red nucleus neurons, particularly those of the caudal one-half of the nucleus, die or severely atrophy following complete spinal cord transection at T9. The size of residual horseradish peroxidase-labeled cells was smaller at 10 and 15 weeks, but those survivors which could be labeled at 25 weeks were normal in size. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of the red nucleus at 52 weeks postoperative showed loss of cells from all size groups.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Morphometric and experimental studies of the red nucleus in the albino rat.

Cytoarchitectural observations showed that the red nucleus of the albino rat consists of three distinct neuronal populations. Neurons with coarse Nissl bodies occupy the caudal end of the red nucleus and extend in diminishing number to the rostral tip. Neurons with finely granular Nissl material are the predominant cell type at the rostral tip of the red nucleus and interdigitate with the coarse neurons except at the caudal end of the nucleus. Coarse neurons, in contrast to fine neurons, are multiangular in contour and tend to be larger, although the two populations overlap in size. A population of interneurons, almost entirely smaller than the other cell types and less numerous, is ubiquitous within the red nucleus. Injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) at different levels of the spinal cord established that the coarse neurons on the contralateral side are the source of the rubrospinal tract and are topographically organized. The dorsal-medial part of the red nucleus emits axons which project to the cervical cord and the ventral-ventrolateral part of the nucleus to the lumbar cord. The thoracic cord receives projections from rubral neurons at intermediate positions. Further, coarse neurons from the entire rostrocaudal axis of the red nucleus contribute fibers to the rubrospinal tract.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evolution of the red nucleus and rubrospinal tract.

A red nucleus, defined by its relative position in the tegmentum mesencephali, its contralateral rubrospinal or rubrobulbar projections and by crossed cerebellar afferents, is found in terrestrial vertebrates and certain rays. A crossed rubrospinal tract occurs in anurans, limbed urodeles and reptiles, birds and mammals, but is apparently absent in boid snakes, caecilians and sharks. A distinct rubrospinal tract is found in certain rays which use their enlarged pectoral fins for locomotion. A crossed tegmentospinal tract, possibly a rubrospinal tract, is found in lungfishes. Although evidence was presented for a rubrospinal tract in more advanced snakes, the available experimental data in lower vertebrates suggest that the presence of a rubrospinal tract is related to the presence of limbs or limb-like structures. In the connectivity of the red nucleus in terrestrial vertebrates, 'levels' of complexity can be distinguished, paralleled by the development of the cerebellum. These 'grades of organization' are probably related to the type of motor performance the particular terrestrial vertebrates are capable of.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1986

Is there a reciprocal connection between the red nucleus and the interposed cerebellar nuclei? Conclusions based on observations of anterograde and retrograde transport of peroxidase-labelled lectin in the same animal.

The rubrointerposital projection was studied in cats where wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) was implanted in various parts of the interposed nuclei. No retrogradely labelled rubral cells were observed following implantations in the posterior interposed nucleus, and only very few such cells were identified in the contralateral red nucleus after implantations restricted to the anterior interposed nucleus with no contamination of cerebellar white matter or cortex. However, when WGA-HRP was delivered by a pressure injection, which in addition to the anterior interposed nucleus included the adjacent white cerebellar matter along the needle track and the overlying cortex, many retrogradely labelled cells were present contralaterally in the magnocellular red nucleus, with some also found in its rostral parvicellular part. The same observation was made when injection of free HRP exceeded the boundaries of the anterior interposed nucleus. These observations indicate that there is a negligible projection from the red nucleus to the contralateral interposed cerebellar nuclei. What has been considered to be rubrointerposital cerebellar fibres probably is the projection to the cerebellar cortex (Exp. Brain Res., 50 (1983) 353-358). Anterogradely labelled fibres could be followed from the implantations in the posterior interposed nucleus to a medial crescent of the entire contralateral red nucleus. Caudal as well as rostral parts of the posterior interposed nucleus project into the same area of the red nucleus. Implantations restricted to the anterior interposed nucleus label a projection to the contralateral magnocellular red nucleus which is topographically organized. The caudal part of the anterior interposed nucleus projects to the dorsomedial portion of the magnocellular red nucleus, the rostral part to its ventrolateral portion. In addition, a mediolateral organization in the anterior interposed nucleus coincides with a caudorostral arrangement in the red nucleus. This topical arrangement corresponds to what has previously been observed in cat and monkey, but due to the small implantation sites used in the present study a more precise mapping of the projection has been obtained. Furthermore, our implantations of WGA-HRP into the red nucleus show especially well the latter topical arrangement in the projection. The observations mentioned above are discussed and related to previous studies of the rubrocerebellar and cerebellorubral projections.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The morphology and cytoarchitecture of the red nucleus of the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius).

The red nucleus of the camel was delineated and reconstructed. For this purpose, three camel brain stems were used for making serial sections in the transverse, sagittal and horizontal planes after double embedding in celloidin-paraffin. All sections were mounted. Nissl and nissl-myelin methods were used for staining. The red nucleus was reconstructed by using a Leitz drawing device; it was seen to have the shape and form of an egg with a flattened medial surface. The red nucleus measures 8.35 mm (length) X 5.00 mm (width) X 3.70 mm (height) and extends from just caudal to the oculomotor nerve fibres to the fasciculus retroflexus rostrally. Five cell types were seen namely, giant, large, medium, small and minimus. The red nucleus shows a larger rostral parvocellular and a smaller caudal magnocellular divisions. The parvocellular division shows three subdivisions namely, the pars veniralis, pars dorsomedialis and cornu lateralis. The red nucleus and its giant cells are the largest reported in literature so far; the giant cells are quite similar to the large ventral spinal motor neurons. The camel cerebellum is very big and this fact along with the greatly developed red nucleus and rubrospinal tract may account for the great muscular control and coordination necessary for the camel to survive in the peculiar desert environment, it is exposed to.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Changes in motor performance and rubral single unit activity in cats after microinjections of serotonin into the red nucleus area.

The serotonergic control exerted on the red nucleus (RN) was studied in unrestrained cats during the performance of a simple reaction time task which consisted of releasing a lever in response to an auditory go-signal. The effects of microinjections of serotonin-oxalate salt into the rubral area on the motor activity and on the firing of neurons recorded concomitantly in the red nucleus were investigated. Injections of serotonin (5-HT) (200-400 ng) into the red nucleus or its dorsal border induced subtle alterations in the conditioned motor performances but had no major effects on the spontaneous motor behavior. The changes in the conditioned motor output (an increase in the static force exerted on the lever and a speeding up of the lever release) are reminiscent of the facilitatory influence of serotonin on various motor reflexes previously reported. Changes in the neuronal activity were observed concomitantly with the effects on the motor output: 5-HT either enhanced or reduced the firing rate of the rubral neurons. These effects were apparently dependent on the discharge pattern of the neurons during the static motor activity. The results suggest that the serotonergic input to the red nucleus may participate in motor control by exerting a dual modulatory action on the activity of rubral neurons.

Animals↗