To proceed from sensation to movement, integration and transformation of information from different senses and reference frames are required. Several brain areas are involved in this transformation process, but previous neuroanatomical and neurophysiological studies have implicated the caudal area 7b as one particular component of this transformation system. In this study, we present the first quantitative report on the spatial coding properties of caudal area 7b. The results showed that neurons in this area had intermediate component characteristics in the transformation system; the area contained bimodal neurons, and neurons in this area encode spatial information using a hybrid reference frame. These results provide evidence that caudal area 7b may belong to the reference frame transformation system, thus contributing to our general understanding of the transformation system.
Hui-Hui JIANGYing-Zhou HUJian-Hong WANGYuan-Ye MAXin-Tian HU
To proceed from sensation to movement,integration and transformation of information from different senses and reference frames are required.Several brain areas are involved in this transformation process,but previous neuroanatomical and neurophysiological studies have implicated the caudal area 7b as one particular component of this transformation system.In this study,we present the first quantitative report on the spatial coding properties of caudal area 7b.The results showed that neurons in this area had intermediate component characteristics in the transformation system;the area contained bimodal neurons,and neurons in this area encode spatial information using a hybrid reference frame.These results provide evidence that caudal area 7b may belong to the reference frame transformation system,thus contributing to our general understanding of the transformation system.
Hui-Hui JIANGYing-Zhou HUJian-Hong WANGYuan-Ye MAXin-Tian HU
The reward-related effects of addictive drugs primarily act via the dopamine system, which also plays an important role in sensorimotor gating. The mesolimbic dopamine system is the common pathway of drug addiction and sensorimotor gating. However, the way in which addictive drugs affect sensorimotor gating is currently unclear. In previous studies, we examined the effects of morphine treatment on sensory gating in the hippocampus. The present study investigated the effects of morphine on sensorimotor gating in rats during chronic morphine treatment and withdrawal. Rats were examined during treatment with morphine for 10 successive days, followed by a withdrawal period. Acoustic startle responses to a single startle stimulus (115 dB SPL) and prepulse inhibition responses were recorded. The results showed that acoustic startle responses were attenuated during morphine treatment, but not during withdrawal. PPI was impaired in the last 2 morphine treatment days, but returned to a normal level during withdrawal.
MENG ZhiQiang1,3, ZHOU DongMing1,2, WANG JianHong1 & MA YuanYe1,2 1State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
