Summary
Spinocervical cells were identified by retrograde labelling from implants of HRP in the dorsolateral fascicle after destruction of the dorsal columns. They lay in laminae III and IV throughout the cord in estimated numbers of 700, 450 and 1100 in lumbosacral enlargement, upper lumbar and thoracic cord, and brachial enlargement respectively. In the cord enlargements dendritic trees were mainly or exclusively developed dorsally, with rostrocaudal exceeding mediolateral spread, and a gradient across the dorsal horn, lateral cells showing this contrast most strongly. Dendritic spread was limited at the II/III laminar boundary. Transition occurred at the edge of the enlargements to a shape with extreme rostrocaudal elongation of perikarya and of dendritic trees in upper lumbar and thoracic segments. Axons of Spinocervical cells ascended in the most dorsal part of the fascicle, distinguishable from the larger spinocerebellar bundle lying adjacent and ventral. The initial axonal course was tortuous, with local collateral branching, the axon sometimes travelling briefly in the dorsal column. In other experiments implants were made ipsilaterally in the dorsal column nuclei after destruction of the dorsal columns. Cells were few and relatively poorly labelled, for which the reasons are discussed. Some such cells, lying in lamina IV, were similar to spinocervical tract cells and may have projected to both lateral cervical and dorsal column nuclei. Others, at the extreme lateral edge of the mid-dorsal horn, were quite different, with dendrites greatly extended rostrocaudally and primary and higher order dendrites projecting ventrally from the perikaryon.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armstrong DM, Schild RF (1979) Spino-olivary neurones in the lumbo-sacral cord of the cat demonstrated by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. Brain Res 168: 176–179
Armstrong R, Blesovsky L, Corsiglia R, Gordon G (1979) Descending projections from the cat's dorsal column nuclei. J Physiol (Lond) 296: 43P
Brown AG (1973) Ascending and long spinal pathways: dorsal columns, spinocervical tract and spinothalamic tract. In: Iggo A (ed) Somatosensory system. Handbook of sensory physiology, Vol II. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 315–338
Brown AG (1981) Organization in the spinal cord. The anatomy and physiology of identified neurones. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Brown AG, Fyffe REW (1981) Form and function of neurones with axons ascending the dorsal columns in cat. J Physiol (Lond) 321: 31–47
Brown AG, House CR, Rose PK, Snow PJ (1976) The morphology of spinocervical tract neurones in the cat. J Physiol (Lond) 260: 719–738
Brown AG, Rose PK, Snow PJ (1977) The morphology of spinocervical tract neurones revealed by intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase. J Physiol (Lond) 270: 747–764
Brown AG, Fyffe REW, Noble R, Rose PK, Snow PJ (1980a) The density, distribution and topographical organization of spinocervical tract neurones in the cat. J Physiol (Lond) 300: 409–428
Brown AG, Rose PK, Snow PJ (1980b) Dendritic trees and cutaneous receptive fields of adjacent spinocervical tract neurones in the cat. J Physiol (Lond) 300: 429–440
Buisseret-Delmas C (1980) An HRP study of the afferents to the inferior olive in cat. I. Cervical spinal and dorsal column nuclei projections. Arch Ital Biol 118: 270–286
Corvaja N, Grofová I, Pompeiano O, Walberg F (1977) The lateral reticular nucleus in the cat. I. An experimental anatomical study of its spinal and supraspinal afferent connections. Neuroscience 2: 537–553
Craig AD (1978) Spinal and medullary input to the lateral cervical nucleus. J Comp Neurol 181: 729–744
Dart AM, Gordon G (1973) Some properties of the spinal connections of the cat's dorsal column nuclei which do not involve the dorsal columns. Brain Res 58: 61–68
Edgley SA, Gallimore CM (1988) The morphology and projections of dorsal horn spinocerebellar tract neurones in the cat. J Physiol (Lond) 397: 99–111
Enevoldson TP, Gordon G (1984) Spinally projecting neurons in the dorsal column nuclei: distribution, dendritic trees and axonal projections: a retrograde HRP study in the cat. Exp Brain Res 54: 538–550
Enevoldson TP, Gordon G (1989) Postsynaptic dorsal column neurons in the cat: a study with retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. Exp Brain Res 75: 611–620
Enevoldson TP, Gordon G, Sanders DJ (1984) The use of retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase for studying the dendritic trees and axonal courses of particular groups of tract cells in the spinal cord: a modified procedure and its evaluation in the cat and rat. Exp Brain Res 54: 529–537
English AW, Tigges J, Lennard PR (1985) Anatomical organization of long ascending propriospinal neurons in the cat spinal cord. J Comp Neurol 240: 349–358
Field HL, Clanton CH, Anderson SD (1977) Somatosensory properties of spinoreticular neurons in the cat. Brain Res 120: 49–66
Gordon G, Grant G (1972) Afferents to the dorsal column nuclei from the dorsolateral funiculus of the spinal cord. Acta Physiol Scand 84: 30–31A
Gordon G, Grant G (1982) Dorsolateral spinal afferents to some medullary sensory nuclei: an anatomical study. Exp Brain Res 46: 12–23
Grant G (1962) Spinal course and somatotopically localized termination of the spinocerebellar tracts: an experimental study in the cat. Acta Physiol Scand 56: Suppl 193
Grant G, Wiksten B, Berkley KJ, Aldskogius H (1982) The location of cerebellar-projecting neurons within the lumbosacral spinal cord in the cat: an anatomical study with HRP and retrograde chromatolysis. J Comp Neurol 204: 336–348
Heath JP (1978) The cutaneous sensory input to the spinocervical tract of the cat and the corticofugal modulation of transmission from the forelimb component. PhD thesis. University of Edinburgh
Jiao SS, Zhang GF, Liu YJ, Wang YS, Lu G-W (1984) Double labelling of cat spinal dorsal horn neurons with fluorescent substances. Pain 2: Suppl S130
Jankowska E, Rastad J, Zarzecki P (1979) Segmental and suprasegmental input to cells of origin of the non-primary fibres in the feline dorsal column. J Physiol (Lond) 290: 185–200
Jones EG (1974) Possible determinants of the degree of retrograde neuronal labeling with horseradish peroxidase. Brain Res 85: 249–253
Lundberg A, Oscarsson O (1961) Three ascending spinal pathways in the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. Acta Physiol Scand 51: 1–16
Matsuhita M, Hosoya Y, Ikeda M (1979) Anatomical organization of the spinocerebellar system in the cat, as studied by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. J Comp Neurol 184: 81–106
Mauntz RA, Pitts NG, Peterson BW (1978) Cat spinoreticular neurons: locations, responses and changes in responses during repetitive stimulation. Brain Res 148: 365–379
Mesulam M-M (1978) Tetramethyl benzidine for horseradish peroxidase neurochemistry: a non-carcinogenic blue reaction product with superior sensitivity for visualizing neural afferents and efferents. J Histochem Cytochem 26: 106–117
Molenaar I, Kuypers HGJM (1979) Cells of origin of propriospinal fibers and of fibers ascending to supraspinal levels: a HRP study in cat and rhesus monkey. Brain Res 152: 429–450
Nauta HJW, Pritz MB, Lasek RJ (1974) Afferents to the rat caudoputamen studied with horseradish peroxidase: an evaluation of a retrograde neuroanatomical research method. Brain Res 67: 219–238
Rossi GF, Brodal A (1956) Spinal afferents to the trigeminal sensory nuclei and the nucleus of the solitary tract. Confin Neurol 16: 321–332
Rustioni A, Kaufman AB (1977) Identification of cells of origin of non-primary afferents to the dorsal column nuclei of the cat. Exp Brain Res 27: 1–14
Rustioni A, Molenaar I (1975) Dorsal column nuclei afferents in the lateral funiculus of the cat: distribution pattern and absence of sprouting after chronic deafferentation. Exp Brain Res 23: 1–12
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Enevoldson, T.P., Gordon, G. Spinocervical neurons and dorsal horn neurons projecting to the dorsal column nuclei through the dorsolateral fascicle: a retrograde HRP study in the cat. Exp Brain Res 75, 621–630 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249913
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249913