Trigeminal inputs to eyeblink motoneurons in the rabbit.

The rabbit nictitating membrane and eyeblink response is widely used in studies of classical conditioning. Eyeblinks involve coordinated activation of the orbicularis oculi motoneurons (OOcVII) and accessory abducens motoneurons (AccVI) which close the external eyelids and nictitating membrane, respectively, and inhibition of levator palpebrae motoneurons (LPIII) whose activity raises the upper eyelid. The identification of blink interneurons that may coordinate these responses is an important step in the analysis of mechanisms supporting eyeblink conditioning as they are likely to receive convergent inputs from circuitry associated with learned as well as unlearned responses. We first investigated the distribution of OOcVII motoneurons in the facial nucleus and LPIII motoneurons in the oculomotor nucleus by retrograde tracing of wheat germ-agglutinated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) injected into the appropriate muscles. We then used an anterograde tracing method to locate trigeminal and paratrigeminal inputs to OOcVII, to AccVI nucleus, and to LPIII. Injections of WGA-HRP were placed into the principal trigeminal nucleus (Vp) and into all divisions of the spinal trigeminal nucleus. We found an area in Vp and the adjacent rostral parts of pars oralis of the spinal trigeminal nucleus that gave clear projections to OOcVII and AccVI motoneurons and adjacent to LPIII motoneurons in the contralateral oculomotor nucleus. We suggest that neurons in this premotor blink area in rabbits can coordinate learned and reflex blink responses involving the external eyelids and the nictitating membrane. In addition, there are direct projections from the pars interpolaris and pars caudalis of the spinal trigeminal nucleus to the facial nucleus that may mediate short latency responses of the external eyelid orbicularis oculi muscle alone.