Discharge of identified deep cerebellar nuclei neurons related to eye blinks in the alert cat.

The activity of identified cerebellar nuclear neurons was recorded in the alert cat during blinks induced by corneal air puffs, light flashes and tones. Eyelid response to air puffs consisted of an early (16.5 +/- 2.7 ms) downward movement followed by two to three late downward steps. Blinks induced by flashes or tones presented longer latencies (52.6 +/- 4.8 and 50.1 +/- 8.0 ms). Type A neurons (n = 86) increased their spike activity in coincidence with the beginning of the blink, regardless of the stimulus modality. The late eyelid downward responses were accompanied by corresponding increases in the firing rate of the neuron. Type A neurons were activated mostly from the red nucleus (48/86) or the restiform body (24/86). Type B neurons (n = 30) fired a brief burst of spikes slightly preceding the blink, followed by a noticeable decrease in their firing rate. As for type A, the discharge response of type B neurons was always the same regardless of the sensory modality. These neurons were activated from the red nucleus (18/30), oculomotor complex (6/30) and restiform body (6/30). Although no precise temporal coupling was found between the beginning of the neuronal response and the start of either the stimulus or the motor response, linear regression analysis demonstrated significant relationships between mean firing rate of type A and B neurons and eyelid position, velocity and/or acceleration. Deep cerebellar nuclei neurons presented here seem to be directly involved in the execution of reflexively induced blinks following the smaller details of eyelid motor performance. The opposite behavior of type A and B cells suggests an interplay of reciprocal actions to determine the ongoing displacements of the lid. Finally, the cerebellum seems to influence blinks through a spread action on many brainstem sites and not exclusively on the red nucleus.