The morphology of dorsal column postsynaptic spinomedullary neurons in the cat
- 20 April 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Comparative Neurology
- Vol. 224 (4), 568-578
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.902240406
Abstract
Dorsal column postsynaptic (DCPS) spinomedullary neurons from the cat's lumbosacral enlargement were identified by antidromic stimulation of the cervical dorsal columns and stained intracellularly with horseradish peroxidase. The cell bodies were located in laminae III-IV. Their dendritic arbors were elongated rostrocaudally but narrow mediolaterally. On the average, the arbors were ×5 longer than they were wide. Most of the neurons had nearly all of their dendrites in laminae III-IV and some of the neurons had, in addition, a considerable amount of dendritic surface area in lamina V. Only one neuron had more than a very small amount of dendritic surface area dorsal to lamina III. Seven of the neurons had unmyelinated axon collaterals that arborized extensively and issued varicosity-bearing terminal branches in laminae III-V, both within and beneath their dendritic territories. All of the neurons were excited by myelinated, low-threshold mechanoreceptors. Since the rostrocaudally elongated and mediolaterally narrow dendritic arbors of DCPS neurons are in register with the laminae III-IV terminal distributions of myelinated, low-threshold mechanoreceptors, it is probable that this excitation arises from a monosynaptic and topographically discrete innervation. About one-half of the DCPS neurons were also excited by noxious stimuli. It is probable that this excitation is accomplished by a polysynaptic distributions are largely or completely separate.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Extra- and intracellular recordings from dorsal column postsynaptic spinomedullary neurons in the catExperimental Neurology, 1983
- Spinal and Trigeminal Mechanisms of NociceptionAnnual Review of Neuroscience, 1983
- DORSAL COLUMN NUCLEI AND ASCENDING SPINAL AFFERENTS IN MACAQUESBrain, 1979
- Spinal Neurons Project to the Dorsal Column Nuclei of Rhesus MonkeysScience, 1977
- Technical considerations on the use of horseradish peroxidase as a neuronal markerNeuroscience, 1977
- Non-primary afferents to the cuneate nucleus in the brachial dorsal funiculus of the catBrain Research, 1974
- Non-primary afferents to the nucleus gracilis from the lumbar cord of the catBrain Research, 1973
- Differential localization in dorsal funiculus of fibres originating from different receptorsExperimental Brain Research, 1968
- Studies on modality segregation and second-order neurones in the dorsal funiculusCellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 1966
- A Method for Dissection and Electrical Study In Vitro of Mammalian Central Nervous TissueScience, 1951