scholarly journals Comparison of the Immediate Effects of Surgical Incision on Dorsal Horn Neuronal Receptive Field Size and Responses during Postnatal Development

2008 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 698-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas G. Ririe ◽  
Lindsay R. Bremner ◽  
Maria Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Skin Incision ◽  
Dorsal Horn Neuron ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Rat Pups

Background Pain behavior in response to skin incision is developmentally regulated, but little is known about the underlying neuronal mechanisms. The authors hypothesize that the spatial activation and intensity of dorsal horn neuron responses to skin incision differ in immature and adult spinal cord. Methods Single wide-dynamic-range dorsal horn cell spike activity was recorded for a minimum of 2 h from anesthetized rat pups aged 7 and 28 days. Cutaneous pinch and brush receptive fields were mapped and von Frey hair thresholds were determined on the plantar hind paw before and 1 h after a skin incision was made. Results Baseline receptive field areas for brush and pinch were larger and von Frey thresholds lower in the younger animals. One hour after the incision, brush and pinch receptive field area, spontaneous firing, and evoked spike activity had significantly increased in the 7-day-old animals but not in the 28-day-old animals. Von Frey hair thresholds decreased at both ages. Conclusions Continuous recording from single dorsal horn cells both before and after injury shows that sensitization of receptive fields and of background and afferent-evoked spike activity at 1 h is greater in younger animals. This difference is not reflected in von Frey mechanical thresholds. These results highlight the importance of studying the effects of injury on sensory neuron physiology. Injury in young animals induces a marked and rapid increase in afferent-evoked activity in second-order sensory neurons, which may be important when considering long-term effects and analgesic interventions.

Alteration of Medullary Dorsal Horn Neuronal Activity Following Inferior Alveolar Nerve Transection in Rats

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 2868-2877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Iwata ◽  
Takao Imai ◽  
Yoshiyuki Tsuboi ◽  
Akimasa Tashiro ◽  
Akiko Ogawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Escape Behavior ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Inferior Alveolar Nerve ◽  
Skin Incision ◽  
Medullary Dorsal Horn ◽  
Whisker Pad ◽  
Wdr Neurons

The effects of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) transection on escape behavior and MDH neuronal activity to noxious and nonnoxious stimulation of the face were precisely analyzed. Relative thresholds for escape from mechanical stimulation applied to the whisker pad area ipsilateral to the transection were significantly lower than that for the contralateral and sham-operated whisker pad until 28 days after the transection, then returned to the preoperative level at 40 days after transection. A total of 540 neurons were recorded from the medullary dorsal horn (MDH) of the nontreated naive rats [low-threshold mechanoreceptive (LTM), 27; wide dynamic range (WDR), 31; nociceptive specific (NS), 11] and sham-operated rats with skin incision (LTM, 34; WDR, 30; NS, 23) and from the ipsilateral (LTM, 82; WDR, 82; NS, 31) and contralateral MDH relative to the IAN transection (LTM, 77; WDR, 82; NS, 33). The electrophysiological properties of these neurons were precisely analyzed. Background activity of WDR neurons on the ipsilateral side relative to the transection was significantly increased at 2–14 days after the operation as compared with that of naive rats. Innocuous and noxious mechanical-evoked responses of LTM and WDR neurons were significantly enhanced at 2–14 days after IAN transection. The mean area of the receptive fields of WDR neurons was significantly larger on the ipsilateral MDH at 2–7 days after transection than that of naive rats. We could not observe any modulation of thermal responses of WDR and NS neurons following IAN transection. Also, no MDH neurons were significantly affected in the rats with sham operations. The present findings suggest that the increment of neuronal activity of WDR neurons in the MDH following IAN transection may play an important role in the development of the mechano-allodynia induced in the area adjacent to the area innervated by the injured nerve.

Structure-function relationships in rat medullary and cervical dorsal horns. II. Medullary dorsal horn cells

1986 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 1187-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Renehan ◽  
M. F. Jacquin ◽  
R. D. Mooney ◽  
R. W. Rhoades
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Noxious Stimulation ◽  
Medial Lemniscus ◽  
Guard Hair ◽  
Primary Afferent ◽  
Medullary Dorsal Horn ◽  
Low Threshold

In Nembutal-anesthetized rats, 31 physiologically identified medullary dorsal horn (MDH) cells were labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Ten responded only to deflection of one or more vibrissae. Six cells were activated by guard hair movement only, six by deflection of guard hairs or vibrissa(e), and seven by pinch of facial skin with serrated forceps. Different classes of low-threshold cells could not be distinguished on the basis of their somadendritic morphologies or laminar distribution. Neurons activated by multiple vibrissae were unique, however, in that one sent its axon into the medial lemniscus, and three projected into the trigeminal spinal tract. None of the guard hair-only or vibrissae-plus-guard hair neurons had such projections. Cells that responded best to noxious stimulation were located mainly in laminae I, II, and deep V, while neurons activated by vibrissa(e) and/or guard hair deflection were located in layers III, IV, and superficial V. Low-threshold neurons generally had fairly thick dendrites with few spines, whereas high-threshold cells tended to have thinner dendrites with numerous spines. Moreover, the dendritic arbors of low-threshold cells were, for the most part, denser than those of the noxious cells. Neurons with mandibular receptive fields were located in the dorsomedial portion of the MDH; cells with ophthalmic fields were found in the ventrolateral MDH, and maxillary cells were interposed. Cells sensitive to deflection of dorsal mystacial vibrissae and/or guard hairs were located ventral to those activated by more ventral hairs. Neurons with rostral receptive fields were found in the rostral MDH, while cells activated by hairs of the caudal mystacial pad, periauricular, and periorbital regions were located in the caudal MDH. Receptive-field types were encountered that have not been reported for trigeminal primary afferent neurons: multiple vibrissae; vibrissae plus guard hairs; and wide dynamic range. The latter two can be explained by the convergence of different primary afferent types onto individual neurons. Our failure to find a significant relationship between dendritic area (in the transverse plane) and the number of vibrissae suggests that primary afferent convergence may not be responsible for the synthesis of the multiple vibrissae receptive field. Excitatory connections between MDH neurons may, therefore, account for multiple vibrissae receptive fields in the MDH.

Control of Size and Excitability of Mechanosensory Receptive Fields in Dorsal Column Nuclei by Homolateral Dorsal Horn Neurons

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Dykes ◽  
A. D. Craig
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Cobalt Chloride ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Dorsal Column ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Dorsal Column Nuclei ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Dorsal Horn Neurons

Dykes, Robert W. and A. D. Craig. Control of size and excitability of mechanosensory receptive fields in dorsal column nuclei by homolateral dorsal horn neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 120–129 1998. Both accidental and experimental lesions of the spinal cord suggest that neuronal processes occurring in the spinal cord modify the relay of information through the dorsal column-lemniscal pathway. How such interactions might occur has not been adequately explained. To address this issue, the receptive fields of mechanosensory neurons of the dorsal column nuclei were studied before and after manipulation of the spinal dorsal horn. After either a cervical or lumbar laminectomy and exposure of the dorsal column nuclei in anesthetized cats, the representation of the hindlimb or of the forelimb was defined by multiunit recordings in both the dorsal column nuclei and in the ipsilateral spinal cord. Next, a single cell was isolated in the dorsal column nuclei, and its receptive field carefully defined. Each cell could be activated by light mechanical stimuli from a well-defined cutaneous receptive field. Generally the adequate stimulus was movement of a few hairs or rapid skin indentation. Subsequently a pipette containing either lidocaine or cobalt chloride was lowered into the ipsilateral dorsal horn at the site in the somatosensory representation in the spinal cord corresponding to the receptive field of the neuron isolated in the dorsal column nuclei. Injection of several hundred nanoliters of either lidocaine or cobalt chloride into the dorsal horn produced an enlargement of the receptive field of the neuron being studied in the dorsal column nuclei. The experiment was repeated 16 times, and receptive field enlargements of 147–563% were observed in 15 cases. These data suggest that the dorsal horn exerts a tonic inhibitory control on the mechanosensory signals relayed through the dorsal column-lemniscal pathway. Because published data from other laboratories have shown that receptive field size is controlled by signals arising from the skin, we infer that the control of neuronal excitability, receptive field size and location for lemniscal neurons is determined by tonic afferent activity that is relayed through a synapse in the dorsal horn. This influence of dorsal horn neurons on the relay of mechanosensory information through the lemniscal pathways must modify our traditional views concerning the relative independence of these two systems.

Enhanced descending modulation of nociception in rats with persistent hindpaw inflammation

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 3025-3037 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ren ◽  
R. Dubner
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Background Activity ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Thermal Hyperalgesia ◽  
T Test ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Thermal Stimulus ◽  
Significant Difference

1. The role of descending brain stem modulatory systems in the development of persistent behavioral hyperalgesia and dorsal horn hyperexcitability was studied in rats with unilateral hindpaw inflammation. Inflammation was induced by intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA, 0.05 ml of an 1:1 oil/saline emulsion, 25 micrograms Mycobacterium), or lambda carrageenan (1 mg/ 0.1 ml saline). Thermal hyperalgesia was assessed by testing paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to a noxious heat stimulus. Superficial dorsal horn nociceptive (nociceptive specific, NS, and wide dynamic range, WDR) neuronal activity in the lumbar spinal cord was recorded extracellularly in chloralose-anesthetized rats. 2. Bilateral lesions of the dorsolateral funiculus (DLFX) at the T10 level were made in 13 rats, and the development of thermal hyperalgesia in these rats was compared with sham-operated or nonoperated control rats. In rats receiving a 0.05-ml CFA injection, a similar magnitude of hyperalgesia developed in the inflamed paw in DLFX (n = 7) and control (n = 8) rats. In addition, there appeared to be a contralateral hyperalgesia that was most apparent between 2 and 24 h after injection of CFA in DLFX rats. The CFA-induced contralateral effects were significantly different (P < 0.05) from the control rats at 2 and 6 h. 3. The intensity of the thermal stimulus was reduced and a low dose of carrageenan (1 mg) was injected into one hindpaw to further reveal the potentiation of hyperalgesia in DLFX rats. Throughout the 0.5- to 4-h time period after the injection of carrageenan, the PWL of the inflamed paws in DLFX rats (n = 6) was significantly shorter than that of control rats (n = 10; 2-way analysis of variance, F1,14 = 14.04, P < 0.01), suggesting the enhancement of hyperalgesia in DLFX rats. A hyperalgesia on the noninflamed paws was also more apparent in this experiment in DLFX rats, when compared with control rats. DLFX did not affect the baseline PWL of the rats. 4. A reversible spinalization was produced by application of a local anesthetic, lidocaine (2%, 0.1 ml), onto the dorsal surface of the thoracic cord (T10-12). This procedure produced thoracic spinal block that lasted for 90 min. The effects of thoracic lidocaine block on nociceptive neuronal activity were studied in 11 neurons (NS = 7, WDR = 4) in CFA-inflamed rats and 10 neurons (NS = 6, WDR = 4) in noninflamed naive rats. After the thoracic lidocaine block, rats showed increases in background activity, expansion of the receptive fields, and increased responses to noxious thermal, mechanical, and electrical stimuli. 5. Quantitative comparison revealed that the mean change in background firing rate of dorsal horn neurons was greater in inflamed [NS: 18.3 +/- 0.4 Hz, (mean +/- SE) n = 7; WDR: 10.9 +/- 0.7 Hz, n = 4] than that in noninflamed (NS: 2.3 +/- 0.3 Hz, n = 6; WDR: 3.3 +/- 0.4 Hz, n = 4) rats (P < 0.01, t-test) after thoracic lidocaine block. Thoracic saline application produced a 2.8 +/- 0.4 Hz decrease in background activity (2 NS and 2 WDR units). The expansion of the receptive fields after thoracic lidocaine block was also greater in inflamed (NS: 141 +/- 9% control, n = 6; WDR: 240 +/- 36% control, n = 4) than in noninflamed (NS: 114 +/- 9% control, n = 6; WDR: 167 +/- 21% control, n = 4) rats (P < 0.05, t-test). Thoracic saline did not produce a significant change in the receptive field size (105 +/- 9%, n = 4). The increases in responses to noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli after thoracic lidocaine block were also significantly greater in inflamed than in noninflamed rats (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the increase in responses to electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve after lidocaine between inflamed and noninflamed rats.(ASTRACT TRUNCATED)

Functional GABAA-Receptor–Mediated Inhibition in the Neonatal Dorsal Horn

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 3893-3897 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bremner ◽  
M. Fitzgerald ◽  
M. Baccei
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Spike Activity ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Descending Pathways ◽  
Apparent Lack ◽  
Dorsal Horn Neurons ◽  
Rat Pups ◽  
Sensory Activity

Neonatal nociceptive circuits and dorsal horn cells are characterized by an apparent lack of inhibitory control: receptive fields are large and thresholds low in the first weeks of life. It has been suggested that this may reflect immature GABAA-receptor (GABAAR) signaling whereby an early developmental shift in transmembrane anion gradient is followed by a longer period of low Cl− extrusion capacity. To investigate whether functional GABAAR-mediated inhibition does indeed undergo postnatal regulation at the level of dorsal horn circuits, we applied the selective GABAAR antagonist gabazine to the spinal cord in anesthetized rat pups [postnatal day (P) 3 or 21] while recording spike activity in single lumbar dorsal horn cells in vivo. At both ages, blockade of GABAAR activity resulted in enlarged hind paw receptive field areas and increased activity evoked by low- and high-intensity cutaneous stimulation, revealing comparable inhibition of dorsal horn cell firing by spinal GABAARs at P3 and P21. This inhibition did not require descending pathways to the spinal cord because perforated patch-clamp recordings of deep dorsal horn neurons in P3 spinal cord slices also showed an increase in evoked spike activity after application of gabazine. We conclude that spinal GABAergic inhibitory transmission onto single dorsal horn cells “in vivo” is functional at P3 and that low Cl− extrusion capacity does not restrict GABAergic function over the normal range of evoked sensory activity. The excitability of neonatal spinal sensory circuits could reflect immaturity in other intrinsic or descending inhibitory networks rather than weak spinal GABAergic inhibition.

scholarly journals Visual performance in behaving cats after prenatal unilateral enucleation

1993 ◽  
Vol 90 (23) ◽  
pp. 11142-11146 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Bisti ◽  
C Trimarchi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Visual Performance ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Severe Impairment ◽  
Orientation Columns

Prenatal unilateral enucleation in mammals causes an extensive anatomical reorganization of visual pathways. The remaining eye innervates the entire extent of visual subcortical and cortical areas. Electrophysiological recordings have shown that the retino-geniculate connections are retinotopically organized and geniculate neurones have normal receptive field properties. In area 17 all neurons respond to stimulation of the remaining eye and retinotopy, orientation columns, and direction selectivity are maintained. The only detectable change is a reduction in receptive field size. Are these changes reflected in the visual behavior? We studied visual performance in cats unilaterally enucleated 3 weeks before birth (gestational age at enucleation, 39-42 days). We tested behaviorally the development of visual acuity and, in the adult, the extension of the visual field and the contrast sensitivity. We found no difference between prenatal monocularly enucleated cats and controls in their ability to orient to targets in different positions of the visual field or in their visual acuity (at any age). The major difference between enucleated and control animals was in contrast sensitivity:prenatal enucleated cats present a loss in sensitivity for gratings of low spatial frequency (below 0.5 cycle per degree) as well as a slight increase in sensitivity at middle frequencies. We conclude that prenatal unilateral enucleation causes a selective change in the spatial performance of the remaining eye. We suggest that this change is the result of a reduction in the number of neurones with large receptive fields, possibly due to a severe impairment of the Y system.

Receptive Field Size and Response Latency Are Correlated Within the Cat Visual Thalamus

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 3537-3547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chong Weng ◽  
Chun-I Yeh ◽  
Carl R. Stoelzel ◽  
Jose-Manuel Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Response Latency ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Spatial Frequency Tuning

Each point in visual space is encoded at the level of the thalamus by a group of neighboring cells with overlapping receptive fields. Here we show that the receptive fields of these cells differ in size and response latency but not at random. We have found that in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) the receptive field size and response latency of neighboring neurons are significantly correlated: the larger the receptive field, the faster the response to visual stimuli. This correlation is widespread in LGN. It is found in groups of cells belonging to the same type (e.g., Y cells), and of different types (i.e., X and Y), within a specific layer or across different layers. These results indicate that the inputs from the multiple geniculate afferents that converge onto a cortical cell (approximately 30) are likely to arrive in a sequence determined by the receptive field size of the geniculate afferents. Recent studies have shown that the peak of the spatial frequency tuning of a cortical cell shifts toward higher frequencies as the response progresses in time. Our results are consistent with the idea that these shifts in spatial frequency tuning arise from differences in the response time course of the thalamic inputs.

Changes in the response properties of neurons in the ventroposterior lateral thalamic nucleus of the raccoon after peripheral deafferentation

1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2441-2450 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. D. Rasmusson
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Thalamic Nucleus ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Sensory Pathways ◽  
Average Latency ◽  
Somatotopic Map ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Single neurons in the ventroposterior lateral thalamic nucleus were studied in 10 anesthetized raccoons, 4 of which had undergone amputation of the fourth digit 4-5 mo before recording. Neurons with receptive fields on the glabrous skin of a forepaw digit were examined in response to electrical stimulation of the “on-focus” digit that contained the neuron's receptive field and stimulation of an adjacent, “off-focus” digit. 2. In normal raccoons all neurons responded to on-focus stimulation with an excitation at a short latency (mean 13 ms), whereas only 63% of the neurons responded to off-focus digit stimulation. The off-focus responses had a longer latency (mean 27.2 ms) and a higher threshold than the on-focus responses (800 and 452 microA, respectively). Only 3 of 32 neurons tested with off-focus stimulation had both a latency and a threshold within the range of on-focus values. Inhibition following the excitation was seen in the majority of neurons with both types of stimulation. 3. In the raccoons with digit removal, the region of the thalamus that had lost its major peripheral input (the “deafferented” region) was distinguished from the normal third and fifth digit regions on the basis of the sequence of neuronal receptive fields within a penetration and receptive field size as described previously. 4. Almost all of the neurons in the deafferented region (91%) were excited by stimulation of one or both adjacent digits. The average latency for these responses was shorter (15.3 ms) and the threshold was lower than was the case with off-focus stimulation in control animals. These values were not significantly different from the responses to on-focus stimulation in the animals with digit amputation. 5. These results confirm that reorganization of sensory pathways can be observed at the thalamic level. In addition to the changes in the somatotopic map that have been shown previously with the use of mechanical stimuli, the present paper demonstrates an improvement in several quantitative measures of single-unit responses. Many of these changes suggest that this reorganization could be explained by an increased effectiveness of preexisting, weak connections from the off-focus digits; however, the increase in the proportion of neurons responding to stimulation of adjacent digits may indicate that sprouting of new connections also occurs.

Two-dimensional receptive-field organization in striate cortical neurons of the cat

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Sun ◽  
A. B. Bonds
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Ocular Dominance ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Cortical Layers ◽  
Field Organization ◽  
Receptive Field Organization ◽  
Cortical Receptive Fields

AbstractThe two-dimensional organization of receptive fields (RFs) of 44 cells in the cat visual cortex and four cells from the cat LGN was measured by stimulation with either dots or bars of light. The light bars were presented in different positions and orientations centered on the RFs. The RFs found were arbitrarily divided into four general types: Punctate, resembling DOG filters (11%); those resembling Gabor filters (9%); elongate (36%); and multipeaked-type (44%). Elongate RFs, usually found in simple cells, could show more than one excitatory band or bifurcation of excitatory regions. Although regions inhibitory to a given stimulus transition (e.g. ON) often coincided with regions excitatory to the opposite transition (e.g. OFF), this was by no means the rule. Measurements were highly repeatable and stable over periods of at least 1 h. A comparison between measurements made with dots and with bars showed reasonable matches in about 40% of the cases. In general, bar-based measurements revealed larger RFs with more structure, especially with respect to inhibitory regions. Inactivation of lower cortical layers (V-VI) by local GABA injection was found to reduce sharpness of detail and to increase both receptive-field size and noise in upper layer cells, suggesting vertically organized RF mechanisms. Across the population, some cells bore close resemblance to theoretically proposed filters, while others had a complexity that was clearly not generalizable, to the extent that they seemed more suited to detection of specific structures. We would speculate that the broadly varying forms of cat cortical receptive fields result from developmental processes akin to those that form ocular-dominance columns, but on a smaller scale.

Response and receptive-field properties of spinomesencephalic tract cells in the cat

1986 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Yezierski ◽  
R. H. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
The Body ◽  
Noxious Stimulation ◽  
Primary Afferent ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Afferent Fibers ◽  
Primary Afferent Fibers

Recordings were made from 90 identified spinomesencephalic tract (SMT) cells in the lumbosacral spinal cord of cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose and pentobarbital sodium. Recording sites were located in laminae I-VIII. Antidromic stimulation sites were located in different regions of the rostral and caudal midbrain including the periaqueductal gray, midbrain reticular formation, and the deep layers of the superior colliculus. Twelve SMT cells were antidromically activated from more than one midbrain level or from sites in the medial thalamus. The mean conduction velocity for the population of cells sampled was 45.2 +/- 21.4 m/s. Cells were categorized based on their responses to graded intensities of mechanical stimuli and the location of excitatory and/or inhibitory receptive fields. Four major categories of cells were encountered: wide dynamic range (WDR); high threshold (HT); deep/tap; and nonresponsive. WDR and HT cells had excitatory and/or inhibitory receptive fields restricted to the ipsilateral hindlimb or extending to other parts of the body including the tail, forelimbs, and face. Some cells had long afterdischarges following noxious stimulation, whereas others had high rates of background activity that was depressed by nonnoxious and noxious stimuli. Deep/tap cells received convergent input from muscle, joint, or visceral primary afferent fibers. The placement of mechanical lesions at different rostrocaudal levels of the cervical spinal cord provided information related to the spinal trajectory of SMT axons. Six axons were located contralateral to the recording electrode in the ventrolateral/medial or lateral funiculi while two were located in the ventrolateral funiculus of the ipsilateral spinal cord. Stimulation at sites used to antidromically activate SMT cells resulted in the inhibition of background and evoked responses for 22 of 25 cells tested. Inhibitory effects were observed on responses evoked by low/high intensity cutaneous stimuli and by the activation of joint or muscle primary afferent fibers. Based on the response and receptive-field properties of SMT cells it is suggested that the SMT may have an important role in somatosensory mechanisms, particularly those related to nociception.

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