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G Spidalieri

Publications and source records attributed to G Spidalieri.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Activity of dentate neurons during arm movements triggered by visual, auditory, and somesthetic stimuli in the monkey.

Single-unit recordings were obtained from 404 neurons in the dentate and interposed nuclei in two monkeys trained to perform simple movements of the elbow in response to three different sensory cues: a light, a tone, and a small, brief perturbation of the trained forearm. Both flexion and extension movements were investigated. Those dentate neurons that showed a clear modulation before the onset of movement (149 of 318 cells recorded) were classified as stimulus related or movement related on the basis of an analysis of the timing of the initial change in discharge. Seventy-one percent of these dentate neurons (106/149) were classified as stimulus related, and 21% (31/149) were classified as movement related. Within the stimulus-related group 87% responded selectively to only one or two of the sensory cues (selective stimulus-related neurons), most often the teleceptive cues, whereas the remaining 13% responded nonselectively to all three cues (nonselective stimulus-related neurons). Interposed neurons, in contrast, showed principally movement-related discharge, and this represented the initial change in discharge in 89% of the neurons. Eleven percent of the interposed cells showed a selective response to the somesthetic cue. The discharge of 28 out of 91 dentate neurons tested with both flexion and extension movements varied with the direction of movement. Few dentate neurons (9%) were found to display any direction sensitivity when considering the discharge preceding the onset of movement, and none of these showed a reciprocal pattern. The discharge of a greater proportion of neurons (24%) was direction sensitive during movement and was occasionally reciprocal. In the same monkeys, however, 78% of the neurons in the neighboring interposed nucleus were direction sensitive, and one-quarter of these displayed reciprocal patterns of discharge. Thus, the discharge of dentate neurons, occurring well in advance of a conditioned movement, cannot specify direction in this simple reaction-time (RT) task. The sensory responses of selective stimulus-related dentate cells ended near the onset of movement but were time locked to the stimulus and not to the movement. When a neuron was responsive to two of the cues the response did not vary with the modality of the stimulus apart from changes in the latency. The initial sensory response was usually followed by later "secondary" changes in discharge that were temporally related to the movement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Somatic receptive-field properties of single fibres in the rostral portion of the corpus callosum in awake cats.

In fifteen awake, chronic cats single-unit recordings were obtained from 316 fibres isolated in the rostral portion of the corpus callosum (CC). Altogether, 304 units were reactive to peripheral stimuli. They were fired by hair bending, light touch or light pressure (S units; 79.3%) or by gentle rotation of joints and/or by pressure on muscle bellies or tendons (D units; 20.7%). All the reactive units were endowed with small and unilateral receptive fields (RFs) located in trigeminal (49.7%) or segmental (50.3%) regions. Trigeminal and forepaw units had the smallest RFs. All the trigeminal units were of the S type. Their RFs were located in either the ophthalmic, maxillar, and mandibular face districts or in the oral vestible. The vast majority of segmental units (146 out 153 fibres) had RFs in the forelimb. Very few units were fired by stimulation of the trunk (6 fibres), and only one had its RF in the tail. Almost half of the forelimb units (69 fibres) were fired by stimulation of the most proximal parts of the forelimb and of the shoulder; about one third (57 fibres) exhibited RFs located in the forepaw; the remaining units (20 fibres) had their RFs in the intermediate region of the forelimb. Neither the trigeminal nor segmental RFs ever extended across the midline. The distribution of the fibres within the CC conformed to a somatotopic pattern. The representations of the trigeminal and segmental regions were largely coextensive. Along the rostro-caudal axis of the CC, units with RFs in the mandibular, maxillar and ophthalmic divisions of the trigeminal region tended to lie in this order in the rostralmost 4 mm.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Discharge properties of area 5 neurones during arm movements triggered by sensory stimuli in the monkey.

Unitary discharge was recorded from 157 cells in area 5 of 2 monkeys trained to perform rapid movements of the contralateral arm. Ninety-six cells were task-related. The earliest movement-related modulation in discharge for the large majority of cells (92%) followed the onset of electromyographic (EMG) activity. The discharge pattern of almost all units for which discharge was recorded during movements in opposite directions varied with direction, most often in a nonreciprocal manner. Discharge was correlated with peak velocity in 23% of the excited cells (n = 52). Almost the entire population of cells correlated with velocity were located in the upper part of the anterior bank of the intraparietal sulcus, suggesting that there may be at least two different functional subregions within the arm representation of area 5. Forty percent of the movement-related units had a short latency response to a small, brief perturbation of the elbow which served as one of the movement cues. These sensory responses were labile, not being present in every trial for a large number of cells. Thirty-six percent of the perturbation-sensitive cells were classified as reaction time (RT)-dependent on the basis of a correlation between RT and either the magnitude or the frequency of occurrence of the response. The response was clearly dependent on the subsequent motor response being absent when movement was extinguished. This dependence of the sensory response on the subsequent movement is a property which might represent a neural substrate for somatic sensory attention. The results also support the idea that the RT-dependent cells may be involved in the initiation of the shortest RT movements in response to the somaesthetic cue.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1983

[Motor responses produced by microstimulation of the rostral region of the corpus callosum].

In six chronic cats microstimulation experiments were carried out in the rostral portion of the corpus callosum (CC) where fibres run which interconnect the motor cortices of the two hemispheres. Serial dorso-ventral penetrations were stereotaxically performed along the rostro-caudal extent of the CC at 0.25-0.5 mm intervals. Stimulation was delivered at 100 micron steps and, when an effect was present, threshold was determined. Motor responses, consisting of very discrete contractions of shoulder, whisker and eyelid muscles, were obtained upon stimulation of about the most rostral 4 mm at intensities lower than 50 microA. At threshold the responses appeared in only one body region and were often unilateral. A slight increase in current gave rise to symmetrical bilateral effects. Motor effects had thresholds higher than 10 microA. Thresholds were the lowest in the middle portion of CC and gradually rose towards it dorsal and ventral ends. Shoulder and eyelid muscles were represented in the rostral and caudal half of effective zone, respectively, whereas the representation of whisker muscles overlapped with the previous two in the rostral third or the middle part of the effective zone.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Motor representation in the rostral portion of the cat corpus callosum as evidenced by microstimulation.

In six chronic cats experiments were carried out to examine the motor effects elicited by microstimulation of the rostral portion of the corpus callosum (CC) which contains fibres interconnecting the motor cortices of the two hemispheres. Serial dorso-ventral penetrations were stereotaxically performed along the rostro-caudal extent of the CC at 0.25-0.5 mm intervals. Motor responses, consisting of very discrete contractions of shoulder, whisker and eyelid muscles, were obtained upon stimulation of about the most rostral 4 mm at intensities lower than 50 microA. At threshold the responses appeared in only one body region and were often unilateral. A light increase in current gave rise to symmetrical bilateral effects. Thresholds were the lowest in the middle of CC and gradually rose towards its dorsal and ventral surfaces. In the course of a penetration an effect once elicited persisted until either the threshold became higher than 50 microA or the ventral edge was reached. All motor effects had thresholds higher than 10 microA. Contractions of shoulder, whisker and eyelid muscles at a threshold lower than 20 microA were obtained in 62.7%, 25.7% and 54.3% of penetrations, respectively. Shoulder and eyelid muscles were represented in the rostral and caudal half of the effective zone, respectively, whereas the representation of whisker muscles overlapped with the other two in the rostral third or the middle part of the effective zone. Single fibres driven by palpation of muscles responding to microstimulation or by movements of the joint mobilized by microstimulation were found at the most rostral sites, whereas units responding to hair displacement over or around the affected muscles were isolated mainly at the most caudal sites. It was inferred that functionally homogeneous callosal fibres are clustered in bundles arranged in dorso-ventrally oriented laminae. The somatotopic representation of the motor effects elicited by microstimulation along the rostro-caudal extent of the effective zone should be the consequence of the serial arrangement of these partially overlapping laminae.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Fast ballistic arm movements triggered by visual, auditory, and somesthetic stimuli in the monkey. I. Activity of precentral cortical neurons.

Single-unit recordings from motor cortex (area 4) were obtained in two monkeys trained to perform simple flexion and extension movements of the arm in response to somesthetic, visual, and auditory signals. All neurons tested showed movement-related responses that were identical for equivalent movements irrespective of the modality of the triggering stimulus. Progressively longer reaction times were always associated with progressively longer latencies of unit responses. When visual and auditory stimuli were presented simultaneously, the intensity and the duration of both motor and unitary responses remained unchanged as if only one stimulus (auditory) had been given. When the auditory stimulus was appropriately delayed with respect to the visual one, shortening of motor reaction time was observed with a corresponding shortening of the latency of unit responses. In addition to movement-related responses, some neurons showed sensory-related responses mainly to the somesthetic stimulus (37%) and more rarely to the auditory (11%) and visual stimuli (3%). These "sensory" responses preceded and were independent of the movement-related responses; they showed no obvious correlation with the reaction time. Whenever tested, the somatosensory responses persisted after extinction of the motor responses. These findings suggest that, in our experimental conditions, area 4 neurons of the monkey are not involved in the early processing of sensory information required for the initiation of simple, triggered movements. Rather, they appear to generate signals that are mainly related to the characteristics of the motor responses.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1983

Fast ballistic arm movements triggered by visual, auditory, and somesthetic stimuli in the monkey. II. Effects of unilateral dentate lesion on discharge of precentral cortical neurons and reaction time.

Single-unit recordings from motor cortex (area 4) were obtained before and after dentate lesion in two monkeys executing fast elbow flexions and extensions in response to randomly presented visual, auditory, and somesthetic stimuli. There were no starting or ending reference points or preparatory signals. Monkeys were trained to perform movements larger than 15 degrees within 500 ms of the stimulus presentation. After electrolytic lesion of the dentate nucleus ipsilateral to the trained arm, changes in reaction time (RT) were observed. Mean daily RTs of movements triggered by light and sound were lengthened by 50-70 ms. RTs of movements triggered by somesthetic stimuli were not changed in one monkey, whereas a small increase of only 20 ms was observed in the other animal. Spontaneous firing of precentral neurons was about the same before and after dentate lesion. However, movement-related responses of cortical neurons were affected by the lesion. Whenever there was an increase in RT according to the triggering stimuli, a corresponding increase in the response time of neurons (RS) appeared. Both RS and RT increased by the same amount when movements were triggered by visual and auditory stimuli, whereas they remained about the same when somesthetic stimuli were used to trigger movements. In contrast, the time interval between the appearance of the change of neuronal firing and onset of arm displacement (RM) was not modified after the lesion. Gating of sensory conditioning inputs and modification of RT by the presentation of more than one stimulus were not abolished by dentate lesion. As a whole, the effects of dentate lesion on motor cortical neurons are consistent with the hypothesis that the neocerebellum controls the initiation of simple ballistic limb movements by controlling the discharge of motor cortex neurons. The effects could be attributed to the withdrawal of a facilitatory influence of dentate neurons on the motor cortical cells, particularly for movements triggered by teleceptive inputs.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1982

Release of GABA from the guinea-pig neocortex induced by electrical stimulation of the 'locus coeruleus' or by norepinephrine.

GABA release from the cortical surface was measured in freely moving guinea-pigs using collecting cups and a mass-fragmentographic method. Stimulation of the locus coeruleus caused a prolonged sedation of the animals and a 60% increase of GABA output from their cerebral cortex. Similar results were obtained after intraventricular injections of norepinephrine. Phentolamine antagonized these effects. The results suggest that the noradrenergic innervation of the cortex modulates the function of cortical GABA neurons.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[Septic complications in subclavian vein catheterization].

Authors have studied the incidence of septic complications due to subclavian vein catheterization, According to literature, have considered that this is generally connected to the operating ability. Septic contamination, though of high incidence, only exceptionally is reason of a septic clinical condition.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1981

Patterns of muscular and motor cortical activity during a simple arm movement in the monkey.

This article describes the behavior of motor cortex neurons recorded in macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) which had been trained to make extension and flexion movements about the elbow in response to auditory, visual, or somesthetic cues. The pattern of activity of 65% of those movement-related neurons which were recorded during both flexion and extension was reciprocally related to the direction of movement. However, the movements of extension and flexion were made by co-contraction of the biceps and triceps in a pattern that did not match that of the motor cortex neurons. The majority of motor cortex neurons had firing frequencies that were related to movement parameters but by their nature could not be directly involved in the control of alpha motoneurons in both directions of movement. We suggest that they could, instead, control the fusimotor system. It is more likely that alpha motoneurons are controlled by the 35% of motor cortex neurons that, like the muscles, do not show reciprocal patterns of activity for movements in opposite directions.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1979

Anatomical and functional aspects of the associative projections from somatic area SI to SII.

1. Electrophysiological and morphological (retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase, HRP) experiments have been carried out in the cat in order to study the associative projections from area SI to ipsilateral SII. 2. Microelectrode recordings were performed in the forepaw focus of SII both in normal (64 units) and in SI-undercut (51 units) cats. 29.6% of the neurons recorded in the unoperated and 29.4% of those collected in the operated cats were excited by electric stimulation of the ipsilateral SI (forepaw focus). In both preparations almost all such units were endowed with large (either contra- or bilateral) receptive fields (RF). Cell population recorded in the SI-undercut cats showed no significant impairment to peripheral stimuli and/or changes in the size of the RFs. 3. From the forepaw focus of SI, 150 units have been recorded and tested by stimulation of the homologous focus of the ipsilateral SII. Eight of them were fired antidromically and thus identified as association cells. Their RFs were very small and located only in the digits of the contralateral forepaw. 4. Both single or multiple HRP injections were performed in SII. Retrogradely labelled cells were found in the ipsilateral SI. The great majority of association cells are pyramids and dwell mainly in layer III. In spite of the large diffusion of the exogenous reaction product in the injected SII and of the presence of retrogradely labelled cells anywhere in the ipsilateral thalamic VB complex, the distribution of association cells is unequal throughout SI since they strongly predominate in the digit zone of the forepaw representation.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Inhibition of acetylcholine outflow from guinea-pig cerebral cortex following locus coeruleus stimulation.

Experiments were performed in unanaesthetized guinea-pigs in order to obtain direct evidence that the noradrenergic projections from locus coeruleus (L.C.) to cerebral cortex inhibit the acetylcholine (ACh) release. The animals were provided with left and right epidural cups, to collect outflowing ACh and with a stimulating electrode, positioned in the left L.C. The electrical stimulation of L.C. caused a significant reduction of ACh outflow from both parietal areas. This effect was abolished, reduced or prevented by phentolamine, phenoxybenzamine or reserpine plus alpha-mt pretreatment, hence showing to be alpha-mediated.

Acetylcholine↗