Abstract
The present study investigated the projections from the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVe) to the spinal cord using retrograde and anterograde tracers. Retrogradely labeled neurons were found after fluoro-gold injections into both the cervical and lumbar cord, with a smaller number of labeled neurons seen after lumbar cord injections. Labeled neurons in the LVe were found in clusters at caudal levels of the nucleus, and a small gap separated these clusters from labeled neurons in the spinal vestibular nucleus (SpVe). In the anterograde study, BDA-labeled fiber tracts were found in both the ventral and ventrolateral funiculi on the ipsilateral side. These fibers terminated in laminae 6–9. Some fibers were continuous with boutons in contact with motor neurons in both the medial and lateral motor neuron columns. In the lumbar and sacral segments, some collaterals from the ipsilateral vestibulospinal tracts were found on the contralateral side, and these fibers mainly terminated in laminae 6–8. The present study reveals for the first time the fiber terminations of the lateral vestibular nucleus in the mouse spinal cord and therefore enhances future functional studies of the vestibulospinal system.
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Abbreviations
- 2SpL:
-
Lamina 2 of the spinal gray, lateral part
- 3Sp:
-
Lamina 3 of the spinal gray
- 4Sp:
-
Lamina 4 of the spinal gray
- 4V:
-
4th ventricle
- 5SpM:
-
Lamina 5 of the spinal gray, medial part
- 5SpL:
-
Lamina 5 of the spinal gray, lateral part
- 6Sp:
-
Lamina 5 of the spinal gray
- 7n:
-
Facial nerve
- 7N:
-
Facial nucleus
- 7Sp:
-
Lamina 7 of the spinal gray
- 8Sp:
-
Lamina 8 of the spinal gray
- 10Sp:
-
Area 10 of the spinal gray
- Ax9:
-
Axial muscle motoneurons of lamina 9
- Bi9:
-
Biceps motoneurons of lamina 9
- C4:
-
4th cervical segment
- C5:
-
5th cervical segment
- C6:
-
6th cervical segment
- CC:
-
Central canal
- contra:
-
Contralateral
- cu:
-
Cuneate fasciculus
- DAB:
-
3,3′-Diaminobenzidine
- DC:
-
Dorsal cochlear nucleus
- De9:
-
Deltoid muscle motoneurons of lamina 9
- dcs:
-
Dorsal corticospinal tract
- dr:
-
Dorsal root
- Fl:
-
Flocculus
- GAD:
-
Glutamic acid decarboxylase
- Gi:
-
Gigantocellular reticular nucleus
- icp:
-
Inferior cerebellar peduncle
- IMM:
-
Intermediomedial column
- IntA:
-
Interposed cerebellar nucleus, anterior part
- IO:
-
Inferior olive
- ipsi:
-
Ipsilateral
- L3:
-
3rd lumbar segment
- L4:
-
4th lumbar segment
- L6:
-
6th lumbar segment
- Lat:
-
Lateral cerebellar nucleus
- lf:
-
Lateral funiculus
- LSp:
-
Lateral spinal nucleus
- LVe:
-
Lateral vestibular nucleus
- Med:
-
Medial cerebellar nucleus
- mlf:
-
Medial longitudinal fasciculus
- MVeMC:
-
Medial vestibular nucleus, magnocellular part
- MVePC:
-
Medial vestibular nucleus, parvicellular part
- PFl:
-
Paraflocculus
- Pr:
-
Prepositus nucleus
- py:
-
Pyramidal tract
- rs:
-
Rubrospinal tract
- scp:
-
Superior cerebellar peduncle
- SI9:
-
Supraspinatus and infraspinatus motoneurons of lamina 9
- sp5:
-
Spinal trigeminal tract
- Sr9:
-
Serratus anterior motoneurons in lamina 9
- SuVe:
-
Superior vestibular nucleus
- T7:
-
7th thoracic segment
- VCPO:
-
Ventral cochlear nucleus, posterior part, octopus cell area
- vGluT2:
-
Vesicular glutamate transporter 2
- vmf:
-
Ventromedial fissure
- vr:
-
Ventral root
- vwc:
-
Ventral white commissure
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H. Liang and T. Bácskai made an equal contribution to this work.
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Liang, H., Bácskai, T., Watson, C. et al. Projections from the lateral vestibular nucleus to the spinal cord in the mouse. Brain Struct Funct 219, 805–815 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-013-0536-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-013-0536-4