Effects of static tilt on cervical spinoreticular tract neurons

The activity of axons located mainly in the ventral part of the lateral funiculi of the cervical segments C2-C3 were recorded in precollicular decerebrate cats and their responses to lateral tilt of the whole animal studied. Units were identified according to their antidromic and/or transynaptic responses to stimulation of the ipsilateral lateral reticular nucleus (NRL) as well as their responses to ipsilateral and/or contralateral forelimb nerve stimulation. In most respects, those units which could be antidromically identified as cervical ascending tract axons showed properties similar to those described for neurons of the spinoreticular pathway, the bVFRT. Among the 106 recorded units, 42 responded to 15 degrees tilts in the median plane. Steady changes in unit discharge frequency were evoked by tilting, which lasted as long as the position of the cat was maintained. The response of the units to tilting consisted of increased in discharge rate during tilt in one direction, while tilt in the opposite direction resulted in a decrease in discharge rate. The magnitude of the responses was clearly related to the degree of tilt. All the units affected by tilt, except one, received inputs from both ipsilateral and contralateral forelimb nerves and some of them also from high-threshold neck muscle afferents. Furthermore, 12 of these units could be orthodromically excited at short latency from the ipsilateral brain stem, suggesting a possible monosynaptic input perhaps transmitted via the lateral vestibulospinal tract. The responses of the cervical ascending spinal tract units to tilt did not appear to depend on peripheral proprioceptive or cutaneous feedback since a number of precautions were taken to eliminate such influences, while control experiments in animals submitted to partial or complete bilateral VIIth nerve section showed the number of neurons responsive to tilt to be profoundly reduced or eliminated. It appeared also that the average spontaneous discharge rate of the ascending units was much lower following bilateral VIIth nerve section than that obtained from the corresponding units recorded in preparations with the VIIth nerves intact. These findings suggested that the responses of the cervical ascending neurons to tilt as well as their spontaneous background activity depended on influences arising from the macular labyrinthine receptors. The observation that the responses of these ascending neurons to peripheral nerve stimulation are modified by tilt further suggested that the macular system may interact with the somatosensory system originating from the forelimb and the neck musculature, thus being able to produce the fine adjustments that cerebellar and brain stem structures exert in the control of posture and movements.