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Control of Posture and Locomotion pp 309–329Cite as

A Cerebello-Thalamo-Cortical Pathway Controlling Fusimotor Activity

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Part of the book series: Advances in Behavioral Biology ((ABBI,volume 7))

Abstract

The mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of lesions in ventrolateral nucleus of thalamus (VLN) in humans with disorders of posture and movement have not been clarified with certainty. In experimental animals, lesions in VLN produced with a cooling probe decrease significantly the responses of medial gastrocnemius (MG) spindle primary afferents to extension of the gastrocnemius muscle. Lesions in a nearby thalamic nucleus, pulvinar, do not depress the responses of MG spindle primary afferents. Earlier studies have shown that the technique of sampling spindle afferent responses used in these experiments provides a reliable indication of the level of tonic activity of fusimotor neurones innervating the MG muscle spindle primaries. It is concluded that (1) the VLN has a net excitatory effect on fusimotor neurones projecting to hindlimb extensor muscles; (2) the VLN is part of a specific pathway for facilitation of fusimotor neurone activity; (3) lesions of VLN have a beneficial effect on limb rigidity in humans through a decrease of spindle afferent responses resulting from the depression of fusimotor activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, USA

    S. Gilman

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  1. S. Gilman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alberta and University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Canada

    R. B. Stein , K. G. Pearson , R. S. Smith  & J. B. Redford , ,  & 

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© 1973 Plenum Press, New York

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Gilman, S. (1973). A Cerebello-Thalamo-Cortical Pathway Controlling Fusimotor Activity. In: Stein, R.B., Pearson, K.G., Smith, R.S., Redford, J.B. (eds) Control of Posture and Locomotion. Advances in Behavioral Biology, vol 7. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4547-3_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4547-3_25

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-4549-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-4547-3

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