Abstract
The vestibular column is located in the hindbrain between the sensory auditory (dorsal) and trigeminal (ventral) columns, spanning rhombomeres r1 (or r2) to r9. It contains the vestibular nuclear complex that receives sensory innervation from the labyrinthine end organs in the inner ear. Gene expression studies and experimental manipulations of developmental genes, particularly Hox genes and other developmental patterning genes, are providing insight into the morphological and functional organization of the vestibular nuclear complex, particularly from a segmental standpoint. Here, we will review studies of the classical vestibular nuclei and of vestibular projection neurons that innervate distinct targets in relation to individual rhombomeres and the expression of specific genes. Studies in different species have demonstrated that the vestibular complex is organized into a hodological mosaic that relates axon trajectory and target to specific hindbrain rhombomeres and intrarhombomeric domains, with a molecular underpinning in the form of transcription factor signatures, which has been highly conserved during the evolution of the vertebrate lineage.
Highlights
In vertebrates, the sensorimotor vestibular system receives information related to the position and movement of the head with respect to the gravitational field and utilizes this to control body posture and stabilize gaze
The vestibular nuclei are abundantly interconnected through bilateral vestibulovestibular and vestibulo-reticulo-vestibular connections [see previous reviews in Büttner-Ennever (2000); Highstein and Holstein (2006), Goldberg et al (2012)]
Classically only four main vestibular nuclei have been recognized based on cytoarchitectonic characteristics: the superior, lateral, descending, and medial nuclei, with some additional minor cell groups such as cell group Y and the interstitial nucleus of the vestibular nerve discernible (Brodal and Pompeiano, 1957; Brodal, 1974; Wold, 1976; Büttner-Ennever, 2000). These vestibular nuclei are plurisegmental in origin since all relate to at least two rhombomeres as fate-mapped in chicken (Marín and Puelles, 1995; Cambronero and Puelles, 2000; Díaz et al, 2003; Marín et al, 2008; Figures 1A, 2), apart from the lateral vestibular nucleus, which relates mainly to r4, at least in the chicken (Marín and Puelles, 1995; Díaz et al, 2003)
Summary
The sensorimotor vestibular system receives information related to the position and movement of the head with respect to the gravitational field and utilizes this to control body posture and stabilize gaze. To take the mammalian situation as an example, angular acceleration of the head is detected by the three orthogonal semicircular canals, whereas linear acceleration and static position of the head are detected by the two otolith organs, the utricle and the saccule (Fritzsch and Beisel, 2001, 2004; Goldberg et al, 2012). The information from these peripheral sensory organs in the inner ear is channeled by the sensory afferents in the vestibular nerve to the vestibular nuclei in the hindbrain. The vestibular nuclei are abundantly interconnected through bilateral vestibulovestibular and vestibulo-reticulo-vestibular connections [see previous reviews in Büttner-Ennever (2000); Highstein and Holstein (2006), Goldberg et al (2012)]
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