Naoki Kogo

Depth profiles of pH and PO2 in the in vitro brainstem preparation of the tadpole Rana catesbeiana.

Extracellular pH and PO2 was recorded in the isolated in vitro brainstem of the metamorphic tadpole, Rana catesbeiana while the brainstem preparation was superfused with oxygenated mock cerebrospinal fluid of pH = 7.8, PCO2 = 17 Torr, PO2 = 600 Torr at 23 degrees C. Using pH and PO2 microelectrodes, the ventral medullary surface was penetrated at midline and lateral sites between cranial nerves V and X. Mean pH and PO2 gradients of 0.07 pH units/100 microns and 60 Torr/100 microns were detected in the superfusate, 100-200 microns above the ventral surface of the brainstem. These gradients remained virtually constant for the first 100-200 microns below the medullary surface. Beyond this level, pH and PO2 gradients decreased in a curvilinear fashion. For midline tracts, minimum values of pH and PO2 (7.58 +/- 0.05 and 323 +/- 31 Torr) were reached at a depth of 500-750 microns, whereas for lateral tracts, mean minimum values of pH and PO2 (7.34 +/- 0.12 and 240 +/- 68 Torr), were recorded at 850-900 microns. With further electrode advancement, pH and PO2 gradients in both midline and lateral tracts reversed as levels began to increase. Between CN V and X, lateral width was 4.34 +/- 0.57 mm, while dorsal-ventral thickness in midline and lateral regions was 0.92 +/- 0.21 and 1.31 +/- 0.22 mm, respectively. Overall, the in vitro tadpole brainstem provides a robust neural preparation which, although moderately acidic, is well oxygenated throughout all tissue layers.

Synaptic pharmacology in the turtle accessory optic system.

Abstract. The accessory optic system of the turtle (the basal optic nucleus, BON) receives both excitatory and inhibitory inputs that are direction-sensitive. When the dorsal midbrain is ablated, only the monosynaptic direction-sensitive input from the retina to the BON remains. To better understand the central visual processing performed by the accessory optic system, this study identifies the neurotransmitters and their receptors that mediate the synaptic excitation and inhibition of BON cells. We used a reduced in vitro turtle brainstem preparation in which the two eyes and brain were isolated pharmacologically. Patch recordings were made on BON neurons while drugs were applied to the brain, with the eyes bathed in control media and either exposed to visual pattern motion or subjected to electrical stimulation. An antagonist of the AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) subtype of glutamate receptor applied within the brain chamber blocked the visual responses. In response to electrical stimulation both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic events were blocked in BON cells, presumably by blocking direct excitation by retinal ganglion cell axons in the BON and indirect excitation of inhibitory interneurons elsewhere in the brainstem. An NMDA receptor antagonist was ineffective, even when the response was measured in a BON cell depolarized in Mg2+-free media. A GABAA receptor on the BON cell mediates the inhibitory responses to retinal stimulation. Injection of lidocaine into the contralateral eye caused an increase in spontaneous inhibitory post-synaptic potentials (IPSPs), suggesting that a tonic retinal output exists that reduces brainstem inhibition of BON cells. Also, there may be tonic inhibition of an excitatory path to BON neurons from within the brainstem, because bicuculline increased spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs) observed in a BON cell without retinal input. These results indicate that the BON is a site of complex visual processing of competing visual signals and provide insight into how an interaction of excitation and inhibition creates a retinal slip signal in the accessory optic system.

Morphology of the turtle accessory optic system

Neural signals of the moving visual world are detected by a subclass of retinal ganglion cells that project to the accessory optic system in the vertebrate brainstem. We studied the dendritic morphologies and direction tuning of these brainstem neurons in turtle (Pseudemys scripta elegans) to understand their role in visual processing. Full-field checkerboard patterns were drifted on the contralateral retina while whole-cell recordings were made in the basal optic nucleus in an intact brainstem preparation in vitro. Neurobiotin diffused into the neurons during the recording and was subsequently localized in brain sections. Neuronal morphologies were traced using appropriate computer software to analyze their position in the brainstem. Most labeled neurons were fusiform in shape and had numerous varicosities along their processes. The majority of dendritic trees spread out in a transverse plane perpendicular to the rostrocaudal axis of the nucleus. Neurons near the brainstem surface were often oriented tangential to that surface, whereas more cells at the dorsal side of the nucleus were oriented radial to the brainstem surface. Further analysis of Nissl-stained neurons revealed the largest neurons are located in the rostral and medial portions of the nucleus although neurons are most densely packed in the middle of the nucleus. The preferred directions of the visual responses of the neurons in this sample did not correlate with their morphology and position in the nucleus. Therefore, the morphology of the cells in the turtle accessory optic system appears dependent on its position within the nucleus while its visual responses may depend on the synaptic inputs that contact each cell.