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  • Title: Spatiotemporal tuning of optic flow inputs to the vestibulocerebellum in pigeons: differences between mossy and climbing fiber pathways.
    Author: Winship IR, Hurd PL, Wylie DR.
    Journal: J Neurophysiol; 2005 Mar; 93(3):1266-77. PubMed ID: 15483061.
    Abstract:
    The pretectum, accessory optic system (AOS), and vestibulocerebellum (VbC) have been implicated in the analysis of optic flow and generation of the optokinetic response. Recently, using drifting sine-wave gratings as stimuli, it has been shown that pretectal and AOS neurons exhibit spatiotemporal tuning. In this respect, there are two groups: fast neurons, which prefer low spatial frequency (SF) and high temporal frequency (TF) gratings, and slow neurons, which prefer high SF-low TF gratings. In pigeons, there are two pathways from the pretectum and AOS to the VbC: a climbing fiber (CF) pathway to Purkinje cells (P cells) via the inferior olive and a direct mossy fiber (MF) pathway to the granular layer (GL). In the present study, we assessed spatiotemporal tuning in the VbC of ketamine-anesthetized pigeons using standard extracellular techniques. Recordings were made from 17 optic-flow-sensitive units in the GL, presumably granule cells or MF rosettes, and the complex spike activity (CSA) of 39 P-cells, which reflects CF input. Based on spatiotemporal tuning to gratings moving in the preferred direction, eight GL units were classified as fast units, with a primary response to low SF-high TF gratings (mean = 0.13 cpd/8.24 Hz), whereas nine were slow units preferring high SF-low TF gratings (mean = 0.68 cpd/0.30 Hz). CSA was almost exclusively tuned to slow gratings (mean = 0.67 cpd/0.35 Hz). We conclude that MF input to the VbC is from both fast and slow cells in the AOS and pretectum, whereas the CF input is primarily tuned to slow gratings.
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