Vestibular Efferent Activity in Squirrel Monkeys

Abstract

All vertebrates are endowed with a vestibular efferent system (EVS) consisting of somata within the Central Nervous System with long axons exiting the brain to innervate the labyrinth. Behaviorally relevant stimuli related to feeding and/or aggressive behaviors and conditions leading to enhanced attentional states or alerting, activate the EVS. Increased EVS activity modifies the resting rate and response dynamics to motion of vestibular afferents. This modification is non-uniform across the fiber spectrum of the semicircular canals, for example, affecting the more sensitive, low spontaneous activity cells more profoundly than their less sensitive counterparts. The cellular bases for EVS effects are excitatory axo-axonic synapses upon primary afferents and axo-somatic inhibitory synapses upon hair cells.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA237286

Entities

People

  • Stephen M. Highstein

Organizations

  • Washington University in St. Louis

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Animals
  • Availability
  • Cells
  • Central Nervous System
  • Classification
  • Contracts
  • Ear
  • Fish
  • Monkeys
  • Nervous System
  • Peripheral Nervous System
  • Physiology
  • Recording Systems
  • Security
  • Spinal Cord
  • Squirrel Monkeys

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroscience