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Notes: Summary Intracellular recording has been made in spinal cats from more than 100 interneurones in the dorsal horn and intermediary region of the lumbosacral spinal cord. The majority of interneurones receive not only EPSPs but also IPSPs from primary afferents. The IPSPs are evoked from three different systems, group I muscle afferents (probably Ib), low threshold cutaneous afferents and the FRA. The shortest central latency of the IPSPs indicates a disynaptic linkage from primary afferents. Interneurones with monosynaptic EPSPs from group I muscle afferents may receive IPSPs from all the above mentioned afferent systems. Interneurones with monosynaptic EPSPs from cutaneous afferents receive their inhibition from the two latter afferent systems. Convergence of EPSPs and IPSPs from the FRA may occur on the same interneurone. The results are discussed mainly with respect to inhibitory interaction between spinal reflex pathways.

Notes: Summary 1. Effects evoked by stimulation of the red nucleus on primary afferent terminals in the lower lumbar segments of cats have been investigated by recording dorsal root potentials (DRPs) and by recording (intracellularly and by excitability measurements) the primary afferent depolarization (PAD) evoked in terminals of different afferent systems. Control experiments suggest that the effects are mediated by the rubrospinal tract. 2. Stimulation of the red nucleus evoked a large DRP and correspondingly there was a pronounced PAD in Ib and low threshold cutaneous afferents. A dual effect was found in Ia afferent terminals; sometimes a weak PAD was detected while in other cases there was dominating primary afferent hyperpolarization (PAH). 3. Rubrospinal volleys are found to facilitate transmission of DRPs evoked from Ia, Ib, cutaneous and high threshold muscle afferents, presumably by exerting an excitatory action on the interneurones mediating the effect from these afferents. Stimulation of the red nucleus may also inhibit transmission in the pathway mediating depolarization of Ia afferent terminals from Ia afferents, probably by activating a segmental pathway from the flexor reflex afferents from which the same effect is evoked. It is postulated that the PAH evoked in Ia afferents from the red nucleus is due to this inhibitory effect and caused by a removal of a tonic PAD in them. 4. The possible role in motor regulation of the rubral effects on primary afferent terminals is discussed in relation to the rubrospinal effects on reflex pathways to motoneurones. This work was supported by the Swedish Medical Research Council (Project No. 14X-94-07C).

Notes: Summary 1. The effect of stimulation of the red nucleus on interneurones in the dorsal horn and intermediate region in the lower lumbar spinal cord has been investigated in cats. It has been ascertained that the effects are mediated by the rubrospinal tract. 2. Extracellular monosynaptic focal potentials evoked by single volleys in the rubrospinal tract were recorded in Rexed's layer VI and VII from a region partly overlapping with that in which focal potentials from group I muscle afferents are evoked, but extending more ventrally. 3. Monosynaptic excitatory action from the rubrospinal tract (recorded in 60 of 340 interneurones) was found in two main categories of interneurones: a) cells monosynaptically activated or disynaptically inhibited from group I muscle afferents and b) cells di- or polysynaptically activated from the flexor reflex afferents or exclusively from cutaneous afferents. The cells under a) are located more dorsally than those under b) but both within the region in which rubral focal monosynaptic potentials are recorded. There was no evidence suggesting that rubrospinal fibres have monosynaptic connexions with interneurones not influenced from primary afferents. 4. Many of the group I interneurones in the intermediate region are without monosynaptic connexions from the rubrospinal tract as are the dorsal horn cells monosynaptically activated from cutaneous afferents and dorsally located cells which do not receive monosynaptic connexions from primary afferents but are polysynaptically activated from the FRA. 5. Late (di- or polysynaptic) excitatory, inhibitory or mixed postsynaptic rubral effects are common and were found in interneurones with or without monosynaptic connexions from primary afferents but receiving similar effects from the FRA. The occurrence of spatial facilitation between peripheral nerves and the rubrospinal tract in evoking late PSPs suggests that the late rubral PSPs are evoked by activation of interneurones transmitting actions from primary afferents. 6. Some consequences of the conjoint control of interneurones from primary afferents and the rubrospinal tract are discussed. The monosynaptic effects from the rubrospinal tract are considered in relation to the rubral control of Ib reflex pathways and to the disynaptic rubromotoneuronal PSPs evoked by monosynaptic activation of last order interneurones of polysynaptic reflex pathways from primary afferents. The late rubral effects on interneurones are discussed in relation to interactive mechanisms between segmental interneuronal pathways. Rubrospinal and corticospinal effects are compared. This work was supported by the Swedish Medical Research Council (Project No. 14X-9407C).

Notes: Abstract  The possibility of collateral segmental actions of spinocervical tract (SCT) neurones upon interneurones with input from cutaneous and group II muscle afferents was investigated in deeply anaesthetized cats. To this end, intracellular and/or extracellular recordings were made from 35 dorsal horn and 15 intermediate zone interneurones in midlumbar segments of the spinal cord and effects of stimulation of the ipsilateral dorso-lateral funiculus (DLF) at C3 and C1 levels, i.e. below and above the lateral cervical nucleus where axons of SCT cells terminate, were compared. The stimuli applied at the C3 segment were within the range of stimuli (50–100 μA) required for antidromic activation of SCT neurones in the same experiment. Those applied at the C1 segment (200–500 μA) were at least 3 times stronger than C3 stimuli. Under the same experimental conditions, long ascending and descending tract neurones (dorsal spino-cerebellar and rubro-spinal tract neurones) with axons in the DLF were activated at similar thresholds from the C1 and C3 segments. Intracellular recordings were made from 29 interneurnoes of which 19 (65%) were dorsal horn and 10 (35%) were intermediate zone interneurones. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by single stimuli applied at the C3 segment, but not the C1 segment, were found in 14 (48%) of those interneurones; their latencies (3.0–5.7 ms) and frequency following with only minimal temporal facilitation were as required for potentials being evoked monosynaptically by the fastest conducting SCT neurones. Extracellular recordings were made from 30 interneurones (24 dorsal horn and 6 intermediate zone interneurones), and in these neurones spike potentials induced from the C3, but not from the C1 segment, were evoked only by short trains of stimuli. However, their latencies from the first effective stimulus (4.3–5.4 ms) were compatible with mono- or oligosynaptically mediated collateral actions of SCT neurones. They were found in 10 (33%) of the 30 investigated interneurones. Similar effects of C3 stimuli were found in similar proportions of dorsal horn interneurones and intermediate zone interneurones. Indications were also found for synaptic actions evoked by C3 stimuli that could not be attributed to direct collateral actions of SCT neurones. In some intracellularly recorded dorsal horn interneurones, short-latency EPSPs were evoked from the C3 segment by the 2nd or 3rd stimulus in the train, but not by single stimuli. In other dorsal horn and intermediate zone interneurones, inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) were evoked from the C3 segment at minimal latencies (2.7–3.2 ms), which might be too short to allow their mediation via SCT neurones. We conclude that SCT neurones might be used to forward information from muscle group II and cutaneous afferents not only to neurones in the lateral cervical nucleus and via them to thalamus and cerebral cortex but also to interneurones in spinal reflex pathways. Thereby reflex actions evoked from group II and cutaneous afferents might be co-ordinated with responses mediated by supraspinal neurones. We conclude also that dorsal horn and intermediate zone mid-lumbar interneurones might contribute to the previously reported di-and poly-synaptic excitation or inhibition of postsynaptic dorsal column (PSDC), spinothalamic tract (STT) and spinomesencephalic tract (SMT) neurones by collateral actions of SCT cells. Thereby these interneurones might contribute to the co-ordination of responses mediated by various populations of supraspinal neurones.