M. Barresi

Oral Implant-Prostheses: New Teeth for a Brighter Brain

Several studies have demonstrated that chewing can be regarded as a preventive measure for cognitive impairment, whereas masticatory deficiency, associated with soft-diet feeding, is a risk factor for the development of dementia. At present the link between orofacial sensorimotor activity and cognitive functions is unknown. In subjects with unilateral molar loss we have shown asymmetries in both pupil size and masticatory muscles electromyographic (EMG) activity during clenching: the molar less side was characterized by a lower EMG activity and a smaller pupil. Since implant-prostheses, greatly reduced both the asymmetry in EMG activity and in pupil’s size, trigeminal unbalance, leading to unbalance in the activity of the Locus Coeruleus (LC), may be responsible for the pupil’s asymmetry. According to the findings obtained in animal models, we propose that the different activity of the right and left LC may induce an asymmetry in brain activity, thus leading to cognitive impairment. According to this hypothesis, prostheses improved the performance in a complex sensorimotor task and increased the mydriasis associated with haptic tasks. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the implant-prosthesis therapy, which reduces the unbalance of trigeminal proprioceptive afferents and the asymmetry in pupil’s size, may improve arousal, boosting performance in a complex sensorimotor task.

Tuning of human vestibulospinal reflexes by leg rotation

Changing the foot position modifies the mechanical action exerted by the ankle extensor and flexor muscles over the body. We verified, in two groups of healthy subjects standing with the heels touching or apart, whether a 90° external rotation of the right leg and foot also changes the pattern of vestibulospinal reflexes elicited by electrical stimulation of the labyrinth. With the head oriented forward, leg rotation did not modify the labyrinthine-driven displacements of the center of pressure (CoP). When the head was rotated in the horizontal plane, either to the right or to the left, the CoP displacement increased along the y axis in all subjects. Changes in the x component in most instances appropriate to preserve unmodified the direction of body sway elicited by the stimulus were observed. Right leg rotation increased the basal EMG activity of ankle extensors and flexors on the left side, while the right side activity was unaffected. The EMG responses to labyrinthine stimulation were modified only on the left side, in a way appropriate to correct the effects of the altered torque pattern exerted on the body by right leg muscles. It appears, therefore, that somatosensory signals related to leg rotation and/or copy of the corresponding voluntary motor commands modify the pattern of vestibulospinal reflexes and maintain the postural response appropriate to counteract a body sway in the direction inferred by labyrinthine signals.

Effects of leg-to-body position on the responses of rat cerebellar and vestibular nuclear neurons to labyrinthine stimulation.

The spatial organization of vestibulospinal (VS) reflexes, elicited by labyrinthine signals and related to head motion, depends on the direction of body tilt, due to proprioceptive neck afferents acting through the cerebellar anterior vermis. The responses of Purkinje cells located within this region to labyrinthine stimulation are modulated by the head-to-body position. We investigated, in urethane-anesthetized rats, whether a 90° leg-to-trunk displacement modifies the responses of corticocerebellar and vestibular nuclear neurons to the labyrinthine input, which would indicate that VS reflexes are tuned by the leg-to-trunk position. With this aim, unit activity was recorded during “wobble” stimuli that allow evaluating the gain and spatiotemporal properties of neuronal responses. The response gain of corticocerebellar units showed a significant drop in the leg-rotated position with respect to the control one. Following a change in leg position, a proportion of the recorded neurons showed significant changes in the direction and phase of the response vector. In contrast, vestibular nuclear neurons did not show significant modifications in their response gain and direction. Thus, proprioceptive afferents signaling leg-to-trunk position seem to affect the processing of directional labyrinthine signals within the cerebellar cortex.

NORADRENERGIC MODULATION OF NEURONAL RESPONSES TO N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE IN THE VESTIBULAR NUCLEI: AN ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY

Excitatory responses evoked by N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) in the vestibular nuclei (VN) of the rat were studied in vivo during microiontophoretic application of noradrenaline (NA) and/or its agonists and antagonists. Ejection of NA-modified excitatory responses mediated by NMDA receptors (NMDAR) in all neurons tested; the effect was enhancement in 59% of cases and depression in the remaining 41%. Enhancements prevailed in all VN with the exception of the lateral vestibular nucleus, where both effects were recorded in an equal number of cases. The enhancing action of NA on NMDAR-mediated responses was mimicked by the noradrenergic beta-receptor agonist isoproterenol, the beta1 specific agonist denopamine and the alpha2 agonist clonidine. These effects were blocked respectively by the generic beta-receptor antagonist timolol, the beta1 antagonist atenolol and the alpha2 antagonist yohimbine. In contrast, application of the alpha1 receptor agonist cirazoline and the specific alpha1 antagonist prazosin respectively mimicked and partially antagonized the depression of NMDAR-mediated excitations induced by NA. Double-labeling immunohistochemical techniques demonstrated broad colocalization of NMDAR (specifically NR1 and NR2 subunits) with noradrenergic receptors (alpha1, alpha2 and beta1) in many VN neurons; only minor differences were found between nuclei. These results indicate that NA can produce generalized modulation of NMDAR-mediated excitatory neurotransmission in VN, which may in turn modify synaptic plasticity within the nuclei.

Noradrenergic modulation of neuronal responses to glutamate in the vestibular complex

Increases in firing rate induced in secondary vestibular neurons by microiontophoretic application of glutamate were studied during long-lasting applications of noradrenaline (NA) and/or its antagonists and agonists. Sixty-nine percent of the tested neurons, scattered through all nuclei of the vestibular complex, modified their responsiveness to glutamate in the presence of NA. The effects were depressive in a majority (40%) and enhancing in a minority (29%) of cases. NA application depressed responses to glutamate more often than it increased them in lateral, medial and superior vestibular nuclei, while the reverse was true for the spinal nucleus. The mean intensities of NA-evoked effects were comparable in the various nuclei. The enhancing effects of NA were antagonized by application of the alpha2 receptor antagonist yohimbine, and their depressive effects were enhanced by the beta receptor antagonist timolol. It is concluded that NA exerts a control on the processing of vestibular information and that this modulation is exerted by at least two mechanisms involving alpha2 and beta noradrenergic receptors.

Serotonin modifies the spontaneous spiking activity of gracile nucleus neurons in rats: role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors

We tested the effects of microiontophoretic application of serotonin (5-HT) on the firing rate of neurons located in the gracile nucleus (GN) of rats. Application of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 agonists and antagonists respectively mimicked/ modulated and blocked the effects produced by the amine, respectively. Among the tested neurons, 88.2% modified their background firing activity in the presence of 5-HT. Responsive neurons decreased their mean firing activity (MFA) in 56.7% of cases and increased it in the remaining 43.3%. To ascertain the specificity of the effects induced by 5-HT, we utilized 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) and alpha-methyl-5-hydroxytryptamine (α-MET-5-HT), agonists for 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors, respectively. The microiontophoresis of 8-OH-DPAT modified the background firing rate of all GN neurons (100% of tested neurons) mimicking the decrease of MFA evoked by 5-HT. The application of a-MET-5-HT modified the MFA in 76.9% of tested neurons, decreasing it in 61.5% of cases and increasing in the remaining 23.1%. The decrease of MFA induced by 8-OH-DPAT was antagonized by application of the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist N-[2-[-(2-Methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinylcyclohexanecarboxamide maleate salt (WAY100635), while application of 5-HT2 receptor antagonist ketanserine tartrate (KET) antagonized only the increase of MFA induced by a-MET-5-HT. These results indicate that 5-HT is able to modulate the background firing activity of GN neurons by 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors.

A new technique to investigate vestibulospinal reflexes

Vestibulospinal reflexes can be elicited in humans by low amplitudes direct (galvanic) currents lasting tens of milliseconds and applied across the two mastoids bones, which can be delivered by particular stimulators. The stimulus induces a perception of body sway and a postural response appropriate to counteract the perceived sway. Both the direction of the perceived and induced body sway are modulated by the orientation of the head with respect to the body. This phenomenon is due to the fact that integration of vestibular and neck signals allows to correctly infer the direction of body sway from the labyrinthine input, which is instead related to direction of head motion. The modulation of stimulus-elicited body sway by neck rotation could be utilised for testing the effectiveness of neck proprioceptive signals in modifying the reference frame for labyrinthine signals from the head to the body. In the present experiments we showed that labyrinthine stimulation can be performed also by using train of pulses of 1 msec duration, which can be delivered by virtually all stimulators allowed for human use. Moreover, we developed a simple technique for visualising the time course of the changes in the direction of the postural response, based on the evaluation of the velocity vector of subjects centre of pressure. This method could be exploited in order to the test the efficacy of neck proprioceptive information in modifying the reference frame for processing vestibular signals in both physiological and pathological condition.

Effects of bicuculline application on the somatosensory responses of secondary vestibular neurons

Limb somatosensory signals modify the discharge of vestibular neurons and elicit postural reflexes, which stabilize the body position. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the γ-amino-butyric-acid (GABA) to the responsiveness of vestibular neurons to somatosensory inputs. The activity of 128 vestibular units was recorded in anesthetized rats in resting conditions and during sinusoidal foreleg rotation around the elbow or shoulder joints (0.026-0.625Hz, 45° peak amplitude). None of the recorded units was influenced by elbow rotation, while 40% of them responded to shoulder rotation. The selective GABAA antagonist receptor, bicuculline methiodine (BIC), was applied by microiontophoresis on single vestibular neurons and the changes in their activity at rest and during somatosensory stimulation was studied. In about half of cells the resting activity increased after the BIC application: 75% of these neurons showed also an increased response to somatosensory inputs whereas 17% exhibited a decrease. Changes in responsiveness in both directions were detected also in the units whose resting activity was not influenced by BIC. These data suggest that the responses of vestibular neurons to somatosensory inputs are modulated by GABA through a tonic release, which modifies the membrane response to the synaptic current. It is also possible that a phasic release of GABA occurs during foreleg rotation, shaping the stimulus-elicited current passing through the membrane. If this is the case, the changes in the relative position of body segments would modify the GABA release inducing changes in the vestibular reflexes and in learning processes that modify their spatio-temporal development.