Saccular and utricular input to cat neck motoneurons

Abstract

1. In two series of cats all vestibular afferents except those innervating the saccular or utricular macula were transected and allowed to degenerate. Subsequent anatomical and physiological verification showed that the saccular nerve had been selectively spared in six cats. The utricular nerve was wholly or partly spared in five cats, but there was some possibility of contamination from other vestibular afferents. 2. The connections of the remaining nerve with dorsal neck motoneurons were studied 27-179 days after the initial surgery in preparations anesthetized with chloralose. 3. Stimulation of the saccular nerve usually evoked IPSPs in contralateral, EPSPs in ipsilateral neck motoneurons. Some of the potentials were disynaptic, many were later and probably trisynaptic. 4. The effects of utricular nerve stimulation were more complex, perhaps because of contamination by other vestibular, particularly canal, afferents. The predominant pattern consisted of ipsilateral inhibition and contralateral excitation, opposite to the effects of saccular nerve stimulation. Many potentials were disynaptic. 5. Various factors that may complicate interpretation of the results, including plastic changes following denervation, are considered. It is concluded that they are not a significant factor. 6. Our main result is a demonstration that the sacculus can contribute to vestibulospinal reflexes acting on the head.