Abstract
A major population of cholinergic projection neurons is located in the pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nuclei in the midbrain. Although much work has been performed on their role in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness, their function in the awake state is not well understood. We made single unit recordings in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTN) of macaque monkeys during visually guided saccade tasks. Three major types of neuron activities were observed. The first was tonic or phasic increase in activity around the time of fixation point onset and closely correlated with the performance of the monkey in the coming saccade task. The second was the activity related to preparation and execution of saccades. The third was the activity related to reward delivery. A subpopulation of PPTN neurons exhibited more than two types of activities. We conclude from these findings that the PPTN may serve as an integrative interface between various signals required for performance of purposive behaviors.
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