Hindlimb movement modulates the activity of rostral fastigial nucleus neurons that process vestibular input

Abstract

Integration of vestibular and proprioceptive afferent information within the central nervous system is a critical component of postural regulation. We recently demonstrated that labyrinthine and hindlimb signals converge onto vestibular nucleus neurons, such that hindlimb movement modulates the activity of these cells. However, it is unclear whether similar convergence of hindlimb and vestibular signals also occurs upstream from the vestibular nuclei, particularly in the rostral fastigial nucleus (rFN). We tested the hypothesis that rFN neurons have similar responses to hindlimb movement as vestibular nucleus neurons. Recordings were obtained from 53 rFN neurons that responded to hindlimb movement in decerebrate cats. In contrast to vestibular nucleus neurons, which commonly encoded the direction of hindlimb movement (81% of neurons), few rFN neurons (21%) that responded to leg movement encoded such information. Instead, most rFN neurons responded to both limb flexion and extension. Half of the rFN neurons whose activity was modulated by hindlimb movement received convergent vestibular inputs. These results show that rFN neurons receive somatosensory inputs from the hindlimb and that a subset of rFN neurons integrates vestibular and hindlimb signals. Such rFN neurons likely perform computations that participate in maintenance of balance during upright stance and movement. Although vestibular nucleus neurons are interconnected with the rFN, the dissimilarity of responses of neurons sensitive to hindlimb movement in the two regions suggests that they play different roles in coordinating postural responses during locomotion and other movements which entail changes in limb position.