Image Processing Strategies Dedicated To the Optic Nerve Stimulation

Postsynaptic potentials in neurons of the pigeon's optic tectum in response to afferent stimulation from the retina and other visual structures: an intracellular study

Visual prosthesis is a potential way to restore partial vision for the patients with degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Optic nerve stimulation with penetrating microelectrode array has been suggested as a possible method for visual prosthesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and basic response properties of cortical responses elicited by optic nerve stimulation with penetrating electrodes in rabbits. In this study, three triangularly or linearly configured platinum-iridium wire electrodes were inserted into the optic nerves of rabbits for electrical stimulation. The charge-balanced current pulses with amplitudes ranging from 10 to 100 microA at 0.5 ms pulse duration were used as the electrical stimuli. The electrically evoked potentials (EEPs) were recorded with a 16-channel silver-ball electrode array in the rabbit visual cortex. Our experimental results showed that the activities of visual cortex could be effectively evoked by the optic nerve stimulation with penetrating electrodes. The threshold of current and charge density to elicit EEPs under optic nerve stimulation at 0.5 ms pulse duration was 20.3 +/- 7.5 microA and 37.8 +/- 13.9 microC/cm(2), respectively. Current stimuli with cathode-first pulses elicited larger cortical responses than that with anode-first pulses. The amplitude of P1 and extent of EEPs increased as the stimulating current amplitude increased, while the latency of P1 decreased. The spatial distributions of multi-channel EEPs in visual cortex demonstrated distinctively different properties under stimulation with different orientations of the stimulating electrodes.

To investigate the effect of different stimulation modes on cortical electrically evoked potentials (EEPs) by intraorbital optic nerve (ON) stimulation with penetrating electrodes. A stimulating electrode array with three electrodes arranged linearly was inserted into the ON along its axis. EEPs were recorded using a 4 × 4 silver-ball electrode array in response to monopolar and bipolar stimulation mode, respectively. The simultaneous monopolar stimulation mode had a lower threshold than the individual monopolar stimulation mode, but elicited smaller cortical response when a fixed charge was injected. The threshold of the bipolar stimulation mode was comparable to that of individual monopolar stimulation mode. The response to the smaller spacing (150μm) bipolar stimulation mode was similar in amplitude to that of the individual monopolar stimulation mode, but spread wider. The larger spacing (500μm) bipolar stimulation mode elicited stronger and wider response than the individual monopolar stimulation mode. For the individual monopolar stimulation mode, stimulation with different electrodes can be differentiated even when the spacing of the two electrodes was 150μm. For ON stimulation with penetrating electrodes, the monopolar stimulation mode could induce more localized cortical responses than the bipolar stimulation mode with comparable threshold and had a high stimulation selectivity. These findings may provide valuable information for the design of stimulation strategy of the penetrative ON visual prosthesis.

Objective Optic nerve stimulation with penetrating electrode.is a new method for developing visual prosthesis.A simulation system was developed with computer software MATLAB to investigate its mechanism.Methods Volume conductor model of optic nerve and optic nerve fiber model were developed.With the stimulation of monopolar penetrating electrode,the excitation thresholds of fibers at different depth were calculated.The activating function and activation region were employed to characterize the external stimulation effect.The impact of different parameters on stimulation effects were explored by changing the fiber diameter and the stimulation pulse width.Results Excitation thresholds increased as well as the percentage of activated fibers with the increase of electrode-fiber distance.Excitation threshold of the same depth fiber decreased as the fiber diameter increased,and the longer the electrode-fiber distance was,the more significant the drop was.Excitation threshold of the same depth fiber decreased as the pulse width of monophasic rectangle wave increased.The excitation threshold of the fiber at the same depth hardly changed for pulse durations greater than 0.5 ms.Conclusion The simulation results indicates that optical nerve stimulation can be realized with penetrating electrode,and different stimulation parameters can produce different activation effects.The present results provide theoretical guidance for the design of experiments. Key words: Penetrating electrode; Optic nerve; Excitation threshold; Activation function

A micro-stimulator design for visual prosthesis based on optic nerve stimulation is presented in this paper. The micro-stimulator is designed to control 64 electrodes, offer single pulse or multiple pulses train which are variable range such as from 1 muA to 2 mA current amplitudes, from 20 mus to 400 mus duration, from 0 to 350 Hz frequency. The micro current pulses transmitting to the penetrating multi-electrode-arrays will stimulate optic nerve to elicit phosphenes within visual field.

Ontogenesis of receptive field characteristics of superior colliculus neurons in the rabbit

1. To characterize signal interactions between ganglion cells, extrinsic current, either sinusoidally or white-noise modulated, was injected into a ganglion cell and the resulting extracellular spike discharges were recorded from a neighboring ganglion cell. 2. Current injected into an ON-ganglion (GA) cell modulated the spike discharges of a neighboring ON-ganglion cell (GA). Similarly, a current injected into an OFF-ganglion (GB) cell modulated the spike discharges of a neighboring OFF-ganglion (GB) cell. The signal transmission between ganglion cells of the same response polarity was fast and sign-noninverting. The transfer function was lowpass with a cutoff frequency of 30 Hz. The efficacy of the transmission was comparable to that from bipolar or amacrine to ganglion cells of the same polarity. 3. Current injected into an ON-ganglion (GA) cell modulated the spike discharges of a neighboring OFF-ganglion (GB) cell; the signal transmission was slow and sign-noninverting. Correspondingly, current injected into an OFF-ganglion (GB) cell modulated the spike discharges of a neighboring ON-ganglion (GA) cell; transmission was slow and sign-inverting. 4. A brief electrical stimulation of the optic nerve activated a single antidromic ganglion cell spike at threshold. With suprathreshold stimulation, multiple spikes appeared, which probably were activated orthodromically. Changes in membrane potential of ganglion and amacrine cells induced by optic nerve stimulation usually lasted 50-80 ms, with an initial depolarization followed by hyperpolarization. We interpret such long-lasting responses to be mediated by reciprocal circuits that include amacrine, bipolar, and ganglion cells. 5. Together with the observations made by Sakai and Naka, we conclude that virtually almost all amacrine, bipolar, and ganglion cells are functionally interconnected; direct and fast connections are established among ON-cells and similarly among OFF-cells, and complex, indirect connections are established between ON- and OFF-cells.

Unit activity of lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) and ventromedian nuclei (VMN) was recorded in urethane anesthetized male rats. A 5 to 10 sec, a 3 to 5 min and a circadian rhythmicity were observed. In about 15% of all neurons, spontaneous activity of LHA and VMN showed reciprocal relationships. Subthreshold stimuli applied at a slow rate in the septum and the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) suppressed the rhythms without changing firing rates. On the other hand stimulation of the optic nerve at a rate of 5 to 10/sec increased firing rates in one third of neurons of SCN. Iontophoretically applied acetycholine increased 80% of tested neurons of SCN, whereas norepinephrine, dopamine and 5HT inhibited 64%, 60% and 75% of SCN neurons, respectively. These inhibitions were much stronger in neurons, the activity of which was increased by optic nerve stimulation. Stimulation of the SCN inhibited the tonic activity in cervical sympathetic nerves. These data suggest that SCN plays a significant role in controlling the rhythmic activity of LHA, VMN and the pineal gland. Dopamine and 5HT may be involved in regulation of the firings of SCN neurons.

Circadian oscillator mechanisms in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) can be reset by photic input, which is mediated by glutamatergic afferents originating in the retina. A key question is why light can only induce phase shifts of the biological clock during a restricted period of the circadian cycle, namely the subjective night. One of several possible mechanisms holds that glutamatergic transmission at retinosuprachiasmatic synapses would be altered, in particular the contribution of glutamate receptor subtypes to the postsynaptic response. By studying the contributions of NMDA and non-NMDA glutamate receptors to the retinal input to SCN in whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in acutely prepared slices, we tested the hypothesis that NMDA receptor current evoked by optic nerve activity is potentiated during the subjective night. During the day the NMDA component of the EPSC evoked by optic nerve stimulation was found less frequently and was significantly smaller in magnitude than during the night. In contrast, the non-NMDA component did not show a significant day-night difference. When the magnitude of the NMDA component was normalized to that of the non-NMDA component, the day-night difference was maintained, suggesting a selective potentiation of NMDA receptor conductance. In addition to contributing to electrically evoked EPSCs, the NMDA receptor was found to sustain a small, tonically active inward current during the night phase. No significant tonic contribution by NMDA receptors was detected during the day. These results suggest, first, a dual mode of NMDA receptor function in the SCN and, second, a clock-controlled type of receptor plasticity, which may gate the transfer of photic input to phase-shifting mechanisms operating at the level of molecular autoregulatory feedback loops.

The influence of the visual wulst on the optic tectum of Columba livia were studied. Analysis of the surface field potential evoked by optic nerve stimulation showed that it is composed of two presynaptic waves (pr1 and pr2) a negative monosynaptic wave (N) and a late, positive component (P) due to activation of deeply located neurons. Single shock visual wulst stimulation elicited a surface-positive field potential the depth profile of which showed that it is due to the activation of neurons of the deep tectal layers, probably different from those responsible for the P wave. Visual wulst stimulation depresses the positive component of the field potential elicited by optic nerve stimulation. It is suggested that this effect is mediated by intratectal inhibitory interneurons.

To investigate the response properties of the electrically evoked potentials (EEPs) elicited by intraorbital optic nerve stimulation with penetrating electrodes using different stimulus parameters. Visually evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded as a control and for comparative purposes. Teflon-coated tungsten wire electrodes (100 microm core-diameter, 300 microm exposed tip) were inserted intraorbitally into the optic nerve. A charge-balanced biphasic current was delivered to the optic nerve via inserted wire electrodes in 26 anaesthetized rabbits. EEPs were recorded by epidural electrodes placed over the visual cortex. The charge density threshold for eliciting EEPs was determined. Stimulus pulse amplitude, duration, frequency and waveform were varied to study their effects on EEPs. After the experiments, the stimulated optic nerves were examined histologically for examination of implantation position of the stimulating electrode into the optic nerve tissue. EEPs were successfully elicited by intraorbital optic nerve stimulation with penetrating electrodes. The measured amplitude of the first large positive peak (P1) was smaller and the latency of P1 was shorter compared with VEPs. The measured charge density threshold to elicit EEPs was 21.36 +/- 5.64 microC/cm(2). The amplitude of P1 increased and the latency of P1 decreased with increasing pulse amplitude of fixed duration stimuli. The amplitude of P1 increased with increasing pulse duration of fixed amplitude stimuli. For fixed charge stimuli, the amplitude of P1 decreased and the latency of P1 increased as the pulse duration increased. As frequency of stimuli varied from 1 to 10 Hz, the amplitude of P1 decreased monotonically. Among the different charge-balanced biphasic pulse stimulating waveforms, the symmetrical cathode-first biphasic pulse elicited the largest amplitude of P1. Our study demonstrates that intraorbital optic nerve stimulation with different stimulus parameters by penetrating electrodes can evoke cortical responses with different properties. The short-duration symmetrical cathode-first biphasic pulses of current with low frequencies are more efficacious in eliciting electrophysiological responses in the visual cortex than other stimulating waveforms.

Neutron radiography with the cyclotron (VII): image restoration using the three-dimensional local matrix : Taniguchi, R.; Hiraoka, E.; Sonoda, K. Ono, A.; NAkanii, T. Annual Report of Osaka Prefectural Radiation Research Institute, Vol. 29, pp. 49–54 (1989)

1. Two groups of interneurons that are involved in the organization of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) are described. The cell bodies of one group lie within the LGN; these units are referred to as intrageniculate. The cell bodies of the other group are found immediately above the LGN at its border with the perigeniculate nucleus; these units are referred to as perigeniculate. 2. Intrageniculate interneurons have center-surround receptive fields that resemble those of relay (principal) cells. They can be subdivided into brisk or sluggish and sustained or transient categories. They are stimulated transsynaptically from the visual cortex and have a characteristic variation in the latency of their spike response to such stimulation both at threshold and for suprathreshold stimuli. The pathway for this stimulation appears to be via cortical efferents to the LGN. Intrageniculate interneurons receive direct, monosynaptic retinal inputs, as determined by recording simultaneously from such interneurons and from the ganglion cells which provide excitatory input to them. Similar to relay cells, they are shown to have one or two major ganglion cell inputs. 3. Perigeniculate interneurons are generally binocularly innervated and give on-off responses to small spot stimuli throughout their receptive field. They respond well to rapid movement of large targets. They respond to electrical stimulation of the retina with a spike latency that falls between that of brisk transient and brisk sustained relay cells. This latency is one synaptic delay longer than that of brisk transient relay cell activation and suggests that they are excited by axon collaterals of these relay cells. Electrical stimulation of the visual cortex is also consistent with this model; the latency of the response of perigeniculate interneurons is approximately one synaptic delay longer than the latency of the response of brisk transient relay cells. 4. The interneuronal pathways described are consistent with proposed circuits that subserve the generation of IPSPs that arise in response to optic nerve and visual cortical stimulation. We now show that such inhibition has feed-forward (intrageniculate) and feed-back (perigeniculate) components that are mediated by two different classes of geniculate interneurons. It is suggested that the intrageniculate interneurons are involved in precise, spatially organized inhibition and that the perigeniculate interneurons are part of a more general, diffuse inhibitory system that modulates LGN excitability.

1. L-Noradrenaline (NA), dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and lysergide were administered iontophoretically to neurones in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat and the responses to these drugs recorded.2. Many neurones were depressed by the monoamines and lysergide.3. This depression was manifested by a reduction or abolition of the effects of optic nerve or visual stimulation, by a failure in some instances of an antidromically propagating spike to invade the cell soma, and by a depression of the excitant effects of L-glutamate and acetylcholine.4. Although there was considerable variation in the magnitude of the depressant effects of the monoamines, dopamine was found to be slightly more potent than 5-HT and NA. Neurones which were inhibited by catecholamines did not always respond to 5-HT and lysergide and vice versa.5. The inhibitory actions of monoamines on lateral geniculate neurones are comparable with those that have been recorded in other structures of the central nervous system.6. Lysergide did not antagonize the action of 5-HT.7. Catecholamines and 5-HT are present in nerve terminals in the lateral geniculate nucleus and the findings of this study suggest that they act as inhibitory transmitters.

A design for a chip to perform binary and binary morphological operations is provided. The chip is intended to be a part of a pipeline machine controlled by a general purpose processor. It could process 25512/spl times/512 pixel frames per second in one pixel per clock cycle rate. In real time application an array of this chip could be used, leading to a less expensive design than using an array of general DSP chips. The functionality of the chip is programmable by changing the flow of data between the internal units using a multiplexer and demultiplexer set. A 15-bit control register is used to set the flow path and consequently the operation.