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Spatial coding capacity of central otolith neurons

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Abstract

This review focuses on recent approaches to unravel the capacity of otolith-related brainstem neurons for coding head orientations. In the first section, the spatiotemporal features of central vestibular neurons in response to natural otolithic stimulation are reviewed. Experiments that reveal convergent inputs from bilateral vestibular end organs bear important implications on the processing of spatiotemporal signals and integration of head orientational signals within central otolith neurons. Another section covers the maturation profile of central otolith neurons in the recognition of spatial information. Postnatal changes in the distribution pattern of neuronal subpopulations that subserve the horizontal and vertical otolith systems are highlighted. Lastly, the expression pattern of glutamate receptor subunits and neurotrophin receptors in otolith-related neurons within the vestibular nuclear complex are reviewed in relation to the potential roles of these receptors in the development of vestibular function.

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Acknowledgments

The works of the authors’ laboratories were supported by grants of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (HKU7270/02M, 7380/03M, 7370/04M).

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  1. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Ying-Shing Chan & Chun-Hong Lai

  2. Research Center of Heart, Brain, Hormone and Healthy Aging, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Ying-Shing Chan & Daisy Kwok-Yan Shum

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Daisy Kwok-Yan Shum

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  1. Ying-Shing Chan
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  2. Chun-Hong Lai
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  3. Daisy Kwok-Yan Shum
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Correspondence to Ying-Shing Chan.

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Chan, YS., Lai, CH. & Shum, D.KY. Spatial coding capacity of central otolith neurons. Exp Brain Res 173, 205–214 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0491-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0491-x

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