Topic: medial vestibular nucleus

The vestibular system plays a pivotal role in tracking head direction for effective navigation in complex environments. We hypothesize that the decline in navigational ability observed with aging is closely linked to the deterioration of a key ascending vestibular pathway in the head-direction network. With cre-dependent viruses for both anterograde and retrograde tracings, we discovered in mice a previously unreported direct pathway from the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) to the dorsal tegmental nucleus (DTN), supplementing the conventional indirect pathways via the nucleus prepositus hypogl

The vestibular system is critical for maintaining balance and postural equilibrium in most vertebrates, and the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) is a key component in the integration of vestibular sensory inputs. However, it is not fully clear how MVN and its related brain regions contribute to vestibular equilibrium. In this study, we identified a population of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing neurons in the facial motor nucleus (FMN) of the brainstem that provides long-range inputs to MVN. While the lower motor neurons in FMN mediate specific orofacial and vibrissal muscle activ