Descending pathways from the superior colliculus mediating autonomic and respiratory effects associated with orienting behaviour.

ABSTRACT: The ability to discriminate competing external stimuli and initiate contextually appropriate behaviours is a key brain function. Neurons in the deep superior colliculus (dSC) integrate multisensory inputs and activate descending projections to premotor pathways responsible for orienting, attention and defence, behaviours which involve adjustments to respiratory and cardiovascular parameters. However, the neural pathways that subserve the physiological components of orienting are poorly understood. We report that orienting responses to optogenetic dSC stimulation are accompanied by short-latency autonomic, respiratory and electroencephalographic effects in awake rats, closely mimicking those evoked by naturalistic alerting stimuli. Physiological responses were not accompanied by detectable

SUBMITTER: Lynch E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10107157 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature