Turning responses evoked by stimulation of visuomotor pathways

Lateral eye, head, and body movements are produced by electrical stimulation of many brain regions from frontal cortex to pons. A new collision method shows that at least 5 separate axon bundles mediate stimulation-elicited lateral head and body movements in rats. One bundle passes between the rostromedial tegmentum and medial pons, with conduction velocities of 0.8-18 m/s. A second bundle passes between the superior colliculus and contralateral medial pons, with conduction velocities of 1.7-13 m/s. A third bundle passes between the superior colliculus and ventrolateral pons, with conduction velocities of 1.3-20 m/s. A fourth bundle passes between the internal capsule and medial substantia nigra, with conduction velocities of 0.9-4.4 m/s. A fifth bundle passes between the anteromedial cortex and rostral striatum, with conduction velocities of 2.4-36 m/s. Collision effects have not been observed between the anteromedial cortex and the internal capsule, medial substantia nigra, superior colliculus, rostromedial tegmentum, or medial pons, which suggests that these sites are not connected by axons mediating turning. Possible synaptic linkages between the 5 bundles and possible transmitters are discussed.