Recurrent feedback in the mormyrid electrosensory system: cells of the preeminential and lateral toral nuclei.

Many sensory regions integrate information ascending from peripheral receptors with descending inputs from other central structures. However, the significance of these descending inputs remains poorly understood. Descending inputs are prominent in the electrosensory system of mormyrid fish and include both recurrent connections from higher to lower stages of electrosensory processing and electric organ corollary discharge (EOCD) signals associated with the motor command that drives the electric organ discharge. The preeminential nucleus (PE) occupies a key position in a feedback loop that returns information from higher stages of electrosensory processing to the initial stage of processing in the electrosensory lobe (ELL). This feedback reflects the integration of ascending electrosensory input from ELL, descending input from the lateral toral nucleus (torus), and EOCD inputs to PE. We used intracellular recording and axonal tracing of stained cells to characterize EOCD and electrosensory responses of several cell types in PE and the torus. PE and toral cells exhibit prominent EOCD responses that are not due to EOCD inputs from ELL. PE cells giving rise to a direct feedback projection to ELL respond to electrosensory stimuli with rapid, precisely timed spikes that will affect ELL neurons early during the same EOD cycle. EOCD and electrosensory responses in toral cells are similar to those observed in PE and may be important in shaping feedback to ELL. These results provide an initial description of electrosensory feedback to ELL as well as information about how ascending, descending, and EOCD inputs are combined at higher stages of electrosensory processing.