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Related Experiment Videos

Cortical influences on rapid brainstem plasticity.

Xin Wang1, John T Wall

  • 1Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of Ohio, 3035 Arlington Avenue, Toledo, 43614-5804, USA.

Brain Research
|May 16, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Cortical inputs do not initiate brainstem plasticity but do constrain its magnitude. Disrupting cortical inputs or brainstem inhibition with bicuculline methiodide (BMI) or lidocaine (LID) causes tactile receptive field (RF) enlargement in dorsal column nuclei (DCN) neurons.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Somatosensory system research
  • Brainstem plasticity mechanisms

Background:

  • Cortical influences on brainstem plasticity are not well understood.
  • Disrupting peripheral input or brainstem inhibition causes dorsal column nuclei (DCN) neuron receptive field (RF) enlargement.
  • Cortical input disruption potentiates RF enlargement, suggesting an interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate interactions between cortical inputs, brainstem inhibition, and DCN RF plasticity.
  • To determine if cortical inputs are necessary for RF enlargement induced by GABA-A receptor antagonist bicuculline methiodide (BMI) or lidocaine (LID).

Main Methods:

  • Experiments in anesthetized rats.
  • Microinjections of BMI into the DCN.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Disruption of cortical inputs.
  • Subsequent lidocaine (LID) tests on the same RFs.
  • Evaluation of DCN neuron tactile RF sizes.

    • Main Results:

    • BMI induced DCN RF enlargement regardless of cortical input status.
    • RF enlargement was greater when cortical inputs were disrupted.
    • LID administration after BMI often caused a secondary, partially overlapping RF enlargement.
    • This secondary enlargement occurred irrespective of cortical input status.

    Conclusions:

    • Cortical inputs are not required to initiate BMI- or LID-induced DCN RF enlargement.
    • Cortical inputs appear to constrain the magnitude of these plasticity-related enlargements.
    • This suggests a modulatory role for cortical pathways in brainstem somatosensory processing.