Premotor circuits controlling eyelid movements in conjunction with vertical saccades in the cat: I. The rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus.

Saccadic eye movements in the vertical plane are controlled by the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF) and the interstitial nucleus of Cajal. Eye movements in the vertical direction are accompanied by concurrent upper eye lid movements. These gaze-related lid movements are produced by the levator palpebrae superioris muscle, whose motoneurons are located in the caudal central subdivision (CCS) of the oculomotor nucleus. The neural circuits that direct such gaze-related lid movements were examined by use of both conventional and dual neuronal tracing methods in the cat. Injections of wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) into the area of the CCS revealed a distinctive subset of retrogradely labeled neurons located in the caudomedial portion of the riMLF. This subset of riMLF neurons was not labeled when injections were localized within the oculomotor nucleus proper, without involving the CCS. Injections of biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) that included this caudomedial riMLF region anterogradely labeled axons that projected profusely throughout the CCS. Labeled terminals were seen in close association with retrogradely labeled levator palpebrae motoneurons, which were primarily found contralateral to WGA-HRP muscle injections. Ultrastructural examination revealed that most BDA-labeled terminals contained clear spherical vesicles and formed asymmetrical synaptic contacts, primarily on the proximal dendrites of WGA-HRP-labeled motoneurons. A few had pleiomorphic vesicles. In summary, these results strongly suggest that the caudomedial part of the cat riMLF is a premotor center that monosynaptically controls lid movements in conjunction with vertical saccades. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.