Eye-head gaze pursuit-related activity was recorded in rostral portions of the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (rNRTP) in alert macaques. The head was unrestrained in the horizontal plane, and macaques were trained to pursue a moving target either with their head, with the eyes stationary in the orbits, or with their eyes, with their head voluntarily held stationary in space. Head-pursuit-r...

Injection of NMDAR antagonist into the thalamus can produce delta frequency EEG oscillations in the thalamocortical system. It is surprising that an antagonist of an excitatory neurotransmitter should trigger such activity, and the mechanism is unknown. One hypothesis is that the antagonist blocks excitation of GABAergic cells, thus producing disinhibition. To test this hypothesis, we investiga...

The superior colliculus (SC) provides signals for the generation of saccades via a direct pathway to the brain stem burst generator (BG). In addition, it sends saccade-related activity to the BG indirectly through the cerebellum via a relay in the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP). Lesions of the oculomotor vermis, lobules VIc and VII, and inactivation of the caudal fastigial nucleus, ...

Saccade accuracy is maintained by adaptive mechanisms that continually modify saccade amplitude to reduce dysmetria. Previous studies suggest that adaptation occurs upstream of the caudal fastigial nucleus (CFN), the output of the oculomotor cerebellar vermis but downstream from the superior colliculus (SC). The nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) is a major source of afferents to both t...

The GABAergic neurons of the nucleus reticularis thalami (nRT) express the type 2 hyperpolarization-activated cAMP-sensitive (HCN2) subunit mRNA, but surprisingly, they were reported to lack the hyperpolarization-activated (Ih) current carried by this subunit. Using the voltage-clamp recordings in the thalamocortical slice preparation of the newborn and juvenile mice (P6-P23), we demonstrate th...

The connectivity of large neurons of the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NRGc) in the medullary reticular formation potentially allows both for the integration of stimuli, in several modalities, that would demand immediate action, and for coordinated activation of cortical and motoric activity. We have simultaneously recorded cortical local field potentials, neck muscle electromyograph (...

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that microinjection of acetylcholine and nonN-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate agonists into the pontine inhibitory area (PIA) induce muscle atonia. The present experiment was designed to identify the PIA afferents that could be responsible for these effects, by use of retrograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidas...

Studies have shown that following opiate withdrawal, the spontaneous discharge rate of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons remarkably increases. Combination of intrinsic mechanisms with extrinsic excitatory modulations mediates the withdrawal-induced hyperactivity of LC neurons. The nucleus paragigantocellularis (PGi) provides the main excitatory inputs to LC and plays a pivotal role in opiate withdra...

We have theorized that large neurons in the ventral and medial reticular formation of the medulla are critical for both autonomic and cortical arousal. To test this theory, we anesthetized rats with urethane, lowered concentric bipolar stimulating electrodes into the medullary reticular formation, and implanted electroencephalogram (EEG) and ECG recording electrodes. We stimulated in the medull...

Saccade accuracy is maintained by adaptive mechanisms that continually modify saccade amplitude to reduce dysmetria. Previous studies suggest that adaptation occurs upstream of the caudal fastigial nucleus (CFN), the output of the oculomotor cerebellar vermis but downstream from the superior colliculus (SC). The nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) is a major source of afferents to both t...