Abstract
Recent work on the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) has tended to focus on the organisation and functions of its outputs. There has been rather less emphasis on how the PAG is told about the emergencies which its responses enable the organism to confront. One possible reason for this lack of emphasis is the old view that the superior colliculus, neighbour to much of the PAG and an obvious source of sensory input to it, was concerned exclusively with orienting and approach, not with emergencies and defensive responding. However, it is now known that at least in rodents the superior colliculus is intimately involved in defensive responding to certain classes of emergency (Dean et al., 1989). Thus, the main purpose of this chapter is to argue that the superior colliculus is a vital link in informing the PAG that particular kinds of emergency are taking place.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Beitz, A.J. and Shepard, R.D., The midbrain periaqueductal gray in the rat. II. A Golgi analysis, J. Comp. Neurol., 237 (1985) 460–475.
Blanchard, R.J. and Blanchard, D.C., An ethoexperimental approach to the study of fear, Psychological Record, 37 (1987) 305–316.
Blanchard, R.J., Mast, M. and Blanchard, D.C., Stimulus control of defensive reactions in the albino rat, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 88 (1975) 81–88.
Blanchard, D.C., Williams, G., Lee, E.M.C. and Blanchard, R.J., Taming of wild Rattus norvegicus by lesions of the mesencephalic central gray, Physiol. Psychol., 9 (1981) 175–163.
Brooks, R.A., Autonomous mobile robots, In: AI in the 1980’s and beyond, Grimson W.E.L. and Patil R.S. (Eds.), MIT press, Cambridge MA, 1987, pp. 343–365.
Chalupa, L.M., Visual physiology of the mammalian superior colliculus, In: Comparative neurology of the optic tectum, Vanegas H. (Ed.), Plenum Press, New York, 1984, pp. 775–818.
Dean, P., Mitchell, I.J. and Redgrave, P., Responses resembling defensive behaviour produced by microinjection of glutamate into superior colliculus of rats, Neuroscience, 24 (1988a) 501–510.
Dean, P., Redgrave, P. and Westby, G.W.M., Event or emergency ? Two response systems in the mammalian superior colliculus, Trends Neurosci., 12 (1989) 137–147.
Dean, P., Redgrave, P. and Mitchell, I.J., Organisation of efferent projections from superior colliculus to brainstem in rat: evidence for functional output channels, Prog. Brain Res., 75 (1988b) 27–36.
Hughlings Jackson, J., Relations of different divisions of the central nervous system to one another and to parts of the body, In: Selected writings of John Hughlings Jackson, Taylor J. (Ed.), Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1932, pp. 422–443.
Keay, K., Westby, G.W.M., Frankland, P., Dean, P. and Redgrave, P., Organization of the crossed tecto-reticulo-spinal projection in rat. 2. Electrophysiological evidence for separate output channels to the periabducens area and caudal medulla, Neuroscience, 37 (1990a) 585–601.
Keay, K.A., Dean, P. and Redgrave, P., N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) evoked changes in blood pressure and heart rate from the rat superior colliculus, Exp. Brain Res., 80 (1990b) 148–156.
Liaw, J-S. and Arbib, M.A., A neural network model for response to looming objects by frog and toad, In: Visual structures and integrated functions, Arbib M.A. and Ewert J-P. (Eds.), Research Notes in Neural Computing, Springer Verlag, Berlin., 1991, in press.
Merker, B., The sentinel hypothesis: A role for the mammalian superior colliculus, Doctoral Dissertation, M.I.T. Press, Cambridge MA, 1980.
Mitchell, I.J., Dean, P. and Redgrave, P., The projection from the superior colliculus to the cuneiform area in the rat. II. Defense-like responses to stimulation with glutamate in cuneiform nucleus and surrounding structures, Exp. Brain Res., 72 (1988) 626–639.
Paxinos, G. and Watson, C., The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates, Academic Press, Sydney, 1986.
Redgrave, P., Dean, P., Souki, W. and Lewis, G., Gnawing and changes in reactivity produced by microinjections of picrotoxin into the superior colliculus of rats, Psychopharmacology, 75 (1981) 198–203.
Redgrave, P., Dean, P. and Westby, G.W.M., Organization of the crossed tecto-reticulo-spinal projection in rat — I. Anatomical evidence for separate output channels to the periabducens area and caudal medulla, Neuroscience, 37 (1990) 571–584.
Redgrave, P., Dean, P., Mitchell, I.J., Odekunle, A. and Clark, A., The projection from superior colliculus to cuneiform area in the rat. I. Anatomical studies, Exp. Brain Res., 72 (1988) 611–625.
Redgrave, P., Mitchell, I.J. and Dean, P., Descending projections from the superior colliculus in rat: a study using orthograde transport of wheatgerm-agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase, Exp. Brain Res., 68 (1987a) 147–167.
Redgrave, P., Michell, I.J. and Dean, P., Further evidence for segregated output channels from superior colliculus in rat: ipsilateral tecto-pontine and tecto-cuneiform projections have different cells of origin, Brain Res., 413 (1987b) 170–174.
Redgrave, P., Odekunle, A. and Dean, P., Tectal cells of origin of predorsal bundle in rat: location and segregation from ipsilateral descending pathway, Exp. Brain Res., 63 (1986) 279–293.
Rhoades, R.W., Mooney, R.D., Rohrer, W.H., Nikoletseas, M.M. and Fish, S.E., Organization of the projection from the superficial to the deep layers of the hamster’s superior colliculus as demonstrated by the anterograde transport of Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin, J. Comp. Neurol., 283 (1989) 54–70.
Westby, G.W.M., Keay, K.A., Redgrave, P., Dean, P. and Bannister, M., Output pathways from the rat superior colliculus mediating approach and avoidance have different sensory properties, Exp. Brain Res., 81 (1990) 626–638.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Redgrave, P., Dean, P. (1991). Does the PAG Learn about Emergencies from the Superior Colliculus?. In: Depaulis, A., Bandler, R. (eds) The Midbrain Periaqueductal Gray Matter. NATO ASI Series, vol 213. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3302-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3302-3_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6453-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3302-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive