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Electrotonic coupling between neurons in the rat lateral vestibular nucleus

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Summary

Correlation of morphological and electrophysiological data strongly suggest that in rat, the giant cells of the lateral vestibular nucleus (L.V.N.) are electrotonically coupled. 1. in addition to “active zones” large terminals synapsing on the perikaryon and/or the main dendritic trunk of the cells bear “gap” junctions which are interpreted as low electrical resistance pathways between neurons. 2. electrical activity of the giant cells was recorded intracellularly as the vestibulo-spinal tract was stimulated. Graded antidromic stimulation produced graded antidromic depolarizations (G.A.Ds) in 69% of cells with high threshold axons. 3. the latency of the G.A.Ds was too short to allow for chemical transmission through afferents or recurrent collaterals. 4. collision experiments demonstrated that directly evoked spikes blocked the antidromic spikes but did not block the G.A.Ds which thus were accounted for by activation of cells others than the impaled ones. 5. lesion experiments indicated that afferent fibers from the spinal cord terminate exclusively in the dorsal part of the L.V.N. Since G.A.Ds were recorded all throughout the nucleus, they were not excitatory post synaptic potentials (EPSPs) from spinal afferents. 6. when the strength of the spinal cord stimulation was increased EPSPs were also generated but they were distinct from the G.A.Ds by their latencies, time course and maximum amplitude. 7. since no direct contact is observed between neurons it is inferred that, as in other documented cases, coupling between giant cells is mediated by way of presynaptic fibers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physiologie, C.H.U. Pitié-Salpétrière, Paris

    Henri Korn, Constantino Sotelo & Francis Crepel

  2. Laboratoire de Neuromorphologie, INSERM U 106, Paris, France

    Henri Korn, Constantino Sotelo & Francis Crepel

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  1. Henri Korn
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  2. Constantino Sotelo
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  3. Francis Crepel
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Korn, H., Sotelo, C. & Crepel, F. Electrotonic coupling between neurons in the rat lateral vestibular nucleus. Exp Brain Res 16, 255–275 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00233330

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