Effects on the chicken monocular OKN of unilateral microinjections of GABAA antagonist into the mesencephalic structures responsible for OKN.

The SR 95531, a GABAA antagonist was microinjected into either the pretectum nuclei, (nucleus Superficialis Synencephali nSS) or the nBOR (nucleus Ectomammillaris nEM) of chickens. Monocular optokinetic nystamus (OKN) of each eye was recorded by the search coil technique before and after unilateral intracerebral drug administration. Before injection, monocular horizontal OKN in chickens, as in other lower vertebrates, displays a directional asymmetry: the stimulation in the Temporo-Nasal (T-N) direction is more efficient in evoking OKN than is stimulation in the Naso-Temporal (N-T) direction. Unilateral microinjections of SR 95531 into either the nSS or nEM induce a reversible increase of gain in OKN directed by the contralateral eye for both directions of stimulation. However administration into the nSS increased directional asymmetry by increasing the T-N component slow phase velocity more strongly than the N-T component slow phase velocity. On the other hand, the unilateral administration of the drug into the nEM suppressed the directional OKN asymmetry by increasing the N-T component slow phase velocity more strongly than the T-N component slow phase velocity. These results indicate that the drug suppresses GABAergic inhibition at the mesencephalic level. Moreover the nSS seems especially involved in monocular OKN in response to a T-N stimulation, while the nEM seems more involved in the OKN response to N-T stimulation. The increase in gain of OKN directed by the ipsilateral eye to microinjected nuclei could account for the strong interactions existing between these mesencephalic structures responsible for horizontal OKN.