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The Journal of Neuroscience, September 23, 2009, 29(38):12020-12030; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0004-09.2009

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 Previous Article

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Does the Middle Temporal Area Carry Vestibular Signals Related to Self-Motion?

Syed A. Chowdhury,¹ Katsumasa Takahashi,¹ Gregory C. DeAngelis,^2 * and Dora E. Angelaki^1 *

¹Department of Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, and ²Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, New York 14627

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Gregory C. DeAngelis, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, 245 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627. Email: gdeangelis{at}cvs.rochester.edu

Recent studies have described vestibular responses in the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd), a region of extrastriate visual cortex thought to be involved in self-motion perception. The pathways by which vestibular signals are conveyed to area MSTd are currently unclear, and one possibility is that vestibular signals are already present in areas that are known to provide visual inputs to MSTd. Thus, we examined whether selective vestibular responses are exhibited by single neurons in the middle temporal area (MT), a visual motion-sensitive region that projects heavily to area MSTd. We compared responses in MT and MSTd to three-dimensional rotational and translational stimuli that were either presented using a motion platform (vestibular condition) or simulated using optic flow (visual condition). When monkeys fixated a visual target generated by a projector, half of MT cells (and most MSTd neurons) showed significant tuning during the vestibular rotation condition. However, when the fixation target was generated by a laser in a dark room, most MT neurons lost their vestibular tuning whereas most MSTd neurons retained their selectivity. Similar results were obtained for free viewing in darkness. Our findings indicate that MT neurons do not show genuine vestibular responses to self-motion; rather, their tuning in the vestibular rotation condition can be explained by retinal slip due to a residual vestibulo-ocular reflex. Thus, the robust vestibular signals observed in area MSTd do not arise through inputs from area MT.

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Received Jan. 1, 2009; revised March 18, 2009; accepted Aug. 16, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Gregory C. DeAngelis, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, 245 Meliora Hall, Rochester, NY 14627. Email: gdeangelis{at}cvs.rochester.edu

Related articles in J. Neurosci.:

The Middle Temporal Area Does Not Relay Vestibular Signals

Alexis D. J. Makin, Kelly Wild, and Rochelle Ackerley
J. Neurosci. 2010 30: 1199-1200. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Meng and D. E. Angelaki Responses of Ventral Posterior Thalamus Neurons to Three-Dimensional Vestibular and Optic Flow Stimulation J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2010; 103(2): 817 - 826. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. D. J. Makin, K. Wild, and R. Ackerley The Middle Temporal Area Does Not Relay Vestibular Signals J. Neurosci., January 27, 2010; 30(4): 1199 - 1200. [Full Text] [PDF]

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