Biomaterial Database

Frontal 'oculomotor' area in alert cat. II. Unit discharges associated with eye movements and neck muscle activity. 1978

D Guitton, and G Mandl

(1) Unit activity in front 'oculomotor' cortex was recorded extracellularly from sites where subsequent electrical stimulation, using threshold current (50 microamperes), could elicit both eye movements and simultaneous neck EMG acitivity. (2) Of 103 cells, 19% were related to either eye movements or neck EMG activity. Cells could be grouped into three categories: (a) Directional (D) cells (31%) discharged before and during saccadic eye movements, whenever the eyes followed a target in one specific direction. Spontaneous saccades, or vestibularly driven nystagmus, in either the light or dark, elicited no responses. (b) Conditionally directional (CD) cells (43%) discharged following (i) tracking saccades; (ii) spontaneous saccades and (iii) the quick phase of nystagmus, in all directions. There usually was a slight discharge preference for one given direction, and this preference was enhanced whenever visual tracking was restricted to the preferred direction. One-third of CD cells responded to stimulation of the contralateralal biventer cervicis neck muscle (min lat. 20 msec). (c) Neck EMG (N) cells (26%) discharged in association with, and preceding, changes in neck muscle activity. These cells also responded to stimulation of the contralateral biventer cervicis muscle (min lat. 10 msec). (3) For points in the lateral 'oculomotor' region (as defined by stimulation: see ref. 17), the directions of evoked saccades, and the directions of spontaneous saccades associated with unit discharges, were sililar. In the medial region 17, the directions of evoked saccades were roughly opposite to the directions of spontaneous eye movements favoured by unit discharges.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009119	Muscle Contraction	A process leading to shortening and/or development of tension in muscle tissue. Muscle contraction occurs by a sliding filament mechanism whereby actin filaments slide inward among the myosin filaments.	Inotropism,Muscular Contraction,Contraction, Muscle,Contraction, Muscular,Contractions, Muscle,Contractions, Muscular,Inotropisms,Muscle Contractions,Muscular Contractions
D009333	Neck	The part of a human or animal body connecting the HEAD to the rest of the body.	Necks
D009802	Oculomotor Nerve	The 3d cranial nerve. The oculomotor nerve sends motor fibers to the levator muscles of the eyelid and to the superior rectus, inferior rectus, and inferior oblique muscles of the eye. It also sends parasympathetic efferents (via the ciliary ganglion) to the muscles controlling pupillary constriction and accommodation. The motor fibers originate in the oculomotor nuclei of the midbrain.	Cranial Nerve III,Third Cranial Nerve,Nerve III,Nervus Oculomotorius,Cranial Nerve IIIs,Cranial Nerve, Third,Cranial Nerves, Third,Nerve IIIs,Nerve, Oculomotor,Nerve, Third Cranial,Nerves, Oculomotor,Nerves, Third Cranial,Oculomotor Nerves,Oculomotorius, Nervus,Third Cranial Nerves
D002415	Cats	The domestic cat, Felis catus, of the carnivore family FELIDAE, comprising over 30 different breeds. The domestic cat is descended primarily from the wild cat of Africa and extreme southwestern Asia. Though probably present in towns in Palestine as long ago as 7000 years, actual domestication occurred in Egypt about 4000 years ago. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed, p801)	Felis catus,Felis domesticus,Domestic Cats,Felis domestica,Felis sylvestris catus,Cat,Cat, Domestic,Cats, Domestic,Domestic Cat
D004292	Dominance, Cerebral	Dominance of one cerebral hemisphere over the other in cerebral functions.	Cerebral Dominance,Hemispheric Specialization,Dominances, Cerebral,Specialization, Hemispheric
D004576	Electromyography	Recording of the changes in electric potential of muscle by means of surface or needle electrodes.	Electromyogram,Surface Electromyography,Electromyograms,Electromyographies,Electromyographies, Surface,Electromyography, Surface,Surface Electromyographies
D005133	Eye Movements	Voluntary or reflex-controlled movements of the eye.	Eye Movement,Movement, Eye,Movements, Eye
D005260	Female		Females
D005625	Frontal Lobe	The part of the cerebral hemisphere anterior to the central sulcus, and anterior and superior to the lateral sulcus.	Brodmann Area 8,Brodmann's Area 8,Frontal Cortex,Frontal Eye Fields,Lobus Frontalis,Supplementary Eye Field,Area 8, Brodmann,Area 8, Brodmann's,Brodmanns Area 8,Cortex, Frontal,Eye Field, Frontal,Eye Field, Supplementary,Eye Fields, Frontal,Frontal Cortices,Frontal Eye Field,Frontal Lobes,Lobe, Frontal,Supplementary Eye Fields
D000200	Action Potentials	Abrupt changes in the membrane potential that sweep along the CELL MEMBRANE of excitable cells in response to excitation stimuli.	Spike Potentials,Nerve Impulses,Action Potential,Impulse, Nerve,Impulses, Nerve,Nerve Impulse,Potential, Action,Potential, Spike,Potentials, Action,Potentials, Spike,Spike Potential