PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Manteuffel

Publications and source records attributed to G Manteuffel.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Localization of motoneurons innervating the extraocular muscles in Salamandra salamandra L. (Amphibia, Urodela).

The central innervation patterns of the extraocular muscles were investigated in the European fire salamander Salamandra salamandra L. by means of the horseradish peroxidase method. The ipsilateral portion of the nucleus nervi oculomotorii, which is located in the rostral ventral tegmentum mesencephali, supplies the musculi recti inferior and medialis and the musculus obliquus inferior without a clear somatotopic representation of the motoneurons. The musculus rectus superior is innervated mainly by a contralateral portion of this nucleus. A definite nucleus Edinger-Westphal could not be recognized. The nucleus nervi trochlearis, which rostrally joins the nucleus nervi oculomotorii with a gap of only about 40 micron between the nuclei, is situated completely contralateral to the musculus obliquus superior supplied by it. The nucleus nervi abducentis, innervating the musculus rectus lateralis, and the nucleus accessorius nervi abducentis, supplying the musculus retractor bulbi, are found in the ipsilateral medulla oblongata and exhibit a large rostrocaudal extension from the eighth cranial nerve to the first root of the vagus nerve. Dendrites of the nucleus nervi oculumotorii and of the nucleus accessorius nervi abducentis extend into neuropil areas receiving primary sensory afferents.

Abducens Nerve↗
PubMed1986

Amphibian optokinetic after nystagmus: properties and comparative analysis in various species.

Optokinetic nystagmus and after nystagmus were studied in six amphibian species, three urodeles and three anurans. It was demonstrated that two of the urodeles, Hydromantes italicus and Salamandra salamandra, display a relatively well-developed optokinetic after nystagmus, which is less pronounced in Bombina variegata and nearly absent in Bufo bufo, Rana temporaria, and Tylototriton verrucosus. These results indicate a certain degree of velocity storage in the optokinetic reflex of some amphibians.

Amphibians↗
PubMed1985

Retinal projections in the caecilian Ichthyophis kohtaoensis (Amphibia, Gymnophiona).

The retinal projections of the caecilian Ichthyophis kohtaoensis were investigated by anterograde transport of HRP. The optic tract forms two bundles in the diencephalon, a narrow medial bundle in the optic tectum, and a basal optic tract consisting of few fibres. Terminal fields are in the thalamus, pretectum, tectum, and as a circumscribed basal optic neuropile in the tegmentum. Thalamic, pretectal and tectal projections are contralateral as well as ipsilateral. The reduced but existing visual projection corresponds to a reduced but existing visually guided behaviour.

Amphibians↗
PubMed1985

Monocular and binocular optic inputs to salamander pretectal neurons: intracellular recording and HRP labelling study.

Intracellular recordings and horseradish peroxidase injections were performed in the pretectum and adjacent tegmentum of Salamandra salamandra, while both optic nerves were electrically stimulated. In approximately half of the recorded units no spikes could be evoked but rather graded postsynaptic potentials. The latter type morphologically showed features of interneurons. From a total of 48 recorded units, nearly 60% were excited only by the contralateral optic nerve, whereas approximately 40% were binocular. For the most part (10/19) the binocular cells were excited by the contralateral and inhibited by the ipsilateral optic nerve. Fewer neurons (7/19) received excitatory inputs from both optic nerves. The latency distribution of the monocular cells shows a maximum of 20-30 ms. The same maximum exists for the contralateral inputs to the binocular cells, whereas the ipsilateral inputs to these units were nearly as frequent with latencies of 20-30 and 40-50 ms. Since neurons with the short ipsilateral latencies always had parts of their dendrites within the ipsilateral ocular projection field, a feature which was lacking in the cells with long ipsilateral latencies, it is possible that the longer latencies are due to indirect ipsilateral inputs. Efferents of labelled dorsal pretectal cells reach the contralateral pretectum via the posterior commissure, the basal optic neuropil of the accessory optic system and the tegmental white substance. More ventrally located cells often reach the pretectal and the basal optic neuropil with their dendrites. Axons of this type descend to the medulla oblongata via the medial longitudinal fasciculus.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Electrophysiology and anatomy of direction-specific pretectal units in Salamandra salamandra.

Pretectal cells of the European fire salamander were recorded extracellularly during binocular and monocular horizontal optokinetic stimulations. The locations of the individual units within the pretectal nucleus were verified with Alcian blue injections. The particular anatomical properties of single cells were demonstrated after single-unit recordings by means of horseradish peroxidase preparations. Direction selective pretectal cells were found to be predominantly (2/3) sensitive to temporo-nasal movements in the visual field of the contralateral eye. They usually possessed large receptive fields centered on the visual equator with restricted diameters in the dorso-ventral axis. Their resting discharge was low, and in some cells no spontaneous discharges were observed. The cells preferred low stimulus velocities, most of them being optimally stimulated with velocities of 1 to 10 deg/s. A group of units was exclusively sensitive to accelerated movements. A subclass of them was transiently responsive when the stimulus stopped. In the anterior and most dorsal part of the pretectal nucleus, binocularly influenced units were found. These cells responded best with binocular optokinetic stimulations and less vigorously or with less pronounced direction selectivity if only the contralateral eye was stimulated. With ipsilateral stimulations alone no response could be elicited. This response type could be explained by inhibitory inputs from the ipsilateral eye via direct ipsilateral projections or crossing pretectal fibers. The responses of these cells are well correlated to behavioral results showing that OKN performance in salamanders, as in some other vertebrates, is different with binocular as compared to monocular stimulations. The direction-sensitive pretectal cells usually possess extensive dendritic arborizations within the ipsilateral pretectal neuropil. Most of the cell bodies were scattered in the white substance or in the superficial layers of the periventricular gray. In the cases where the efferent fiber of a particular cell could be clearly recognized, the axon projected to the basal optic neuropil of the accessory optic system, the contralateral pretectum or, in two cases, to the medulla oblongata into a region which might be homologous to the inferior olive of higher vertebrates.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Quantitative analysis of salamander horizontal head nystagmus.

The horizontal optokinetic head nystagmus of salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) was investigated at various constant and sinusoidally modulated velocities. With constant velocities the best compensation (head velocity/stimulus velocity) measured was 0.6 at a stimulus velocity of 3 deg/s. With slow stimuli up to 5 deg/s, small oscillations in the slow phase of the nystagmus occurred. The nystagmus started with a delay of 1.1 s after onset of stimulus with an acceleration period of up to 6 s. After the stimulus terminated, the head was decelerated within (on average) 5 s, indicating a weak velocity storage element. The nystagmus frequency, the acceleration time, and the deceleration time were in correlation with the head velocity during the slow phase. With sinusoidal stimuli, nonlinearities were displayed: the gain was amplitude-dependent, and distortions of the sinusoidal head movements occurred with higher frequencies.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

A 'physiological' model for the salamander horizontal optokinetic reflex.

The salamander optokinetic head nystagmus can be explained by a comparatively simple negative feedback loop with few operational units within the loop. These units may easily be represented by properties of neural elements. In particular, the retinal slip velocity is transformed into an internal excitation by a velocity transfer function derived from pretectal recordings. A velocity storage element with input-output comparator is proposed as a recurrent inhibition network. A threshold element sums up the neuronal thresholds of the units involved. An internal gain factor may be interpreted as the transformation of the neural signal to a motor output. This output occurs with a stimulus-independent delay of 1 s, which is considered to be the sum of all conduction delays in the system. The model produces an output that is in excellent conformity with the optokinetic behavior. Additionally, the model predicts behavioral responses to optokinetic stimulation with extended stimulus ranges or with central lesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The accessory optic system in the newt, Triturus cristatus: unitary response properties from the basal optic neuropil.

Recordings from the basal optic neuropil (BON) demonstrated directional sensitivity. These directional sensitivities were different in different units, however, most of them displayed a strong vertical component. Inhibition in the non-preferred direction did not occur, only a lower activation than in the preferred direction was found. The identified velocity functions correlate well with the velocity dependence of the nystagmus frequency demonstrated in the behavior. The units responded well to moving large-area stimuli and exhibited horizontally elongated receptive fields with diameters up to 120 degrees. Additionally, bimodal recordings were observed in the BON which were probably due to input from the otoliths. As the recordings are likely to be presynaptic, the BON receives types of input which establish its function in the control of visuomotor behavior.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

On the presence of nucleus ruber in the urodele Salamandra salamandra and the caecilian Ichthyophis kohtaoensis.

The presence of nucleus ruber in urodeles and caecilians (amphibia) was investigated. For that purpose, horseradish peroxidase was applied to the rostral spinal cord, the medulla oblongata at various levels and the dorsolateral funiculus. Whereas Salamandra salamandra possesses a rubrospinal tract, it is absent in the limbless caecilian Ichthyophis kohtaoensis.

Amphibians↗