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Spatial tuning and dynamics of vestibular semicircular canal afferents in rhesus monkeys

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Abstract

Rotational head motion in vertebrates is detected by the three semicircular canals of the vestibular system whose innervating primary afferent fibers encode movement information in specific head planes. In order to further investigate the nature of vestibular central processing of rotational motion in rhesus monkeys, it was first necessary to quantify afferent information coding in this species. Extracellular recordings were performed to determine the spatial and dynamic properties of semicircular canal afferents to rotational motion in awake rhesus monkeys. We found that the afferents innervating specific semicircular canals had maximum sensitivity vectors that were mutually orthogonal. Similar to other species, afferent response dynamics varied, with regular firing afferents having increased long time constants (t 1), decreased cupula velocity time constants (t v), and decreased fractional order dynamic operator values (s k) as compared to irregular firing afferents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Benny Harris and Jesus Loya for their fine technical assistance. The work was supported by grants from NIH (DC04160), and HHMI (57003555). NASA (NAG2-1493).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Asim Haque & J. David Dickman

  2. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Dora E. Angelaki & J. David Dickman

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  1. Asim Haque
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  2. Dora E. Angelaki
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  3. J. David Dickman
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Correspondence to J. David Dickman.

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Haque, A., Angelaki, D.E. & Dickman, J.D. Spatial tuning and dynamics of vestibular semicircular canal afferents in rhesus monkeys. Exp Brain Res 155, 81–90 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1693-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-003-1693-0

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