Chemical and electrical synaptic connexions between cutaneous mechanoreceptor neurones in the central nervous system of the leech

Experiments have been made to study the synaptic connexions between sensory cells in the C.N.S. of the leech. Each segmental ganglion contains six neurones that respond specifically to light touch applied to the skin; each of these ;touch cells' innervates a discrete area on the surface of the body and has a characteristic set of properties by which it can be recognized. Using intracellular electrodes it has been shown that these sensory cells interact with one another through chemical and electrical synapses by way of a stereotyped set of pathways.1. Action potentials occurring in one touch cell gave rise to synaptic potentials in the five other touch cells in the same ganglion and also in the three ipsilateral touch cells in the adjacent ganglia. Thus, synaptic interactions took place between sensory cells whose receptive fields lay within the same segment and on the same side of adjacent segments.2. The post-synaptic potentials consisted of a short-latency coupling potential, followed by an excitatory potential and a number of inhibitory potentials. These delayed synaptic potentials occurred inconsistently and with a variable latency; they could also be recorded in the cell which had been stimulated. All of the touch cells appeared to be equally effective in initiating synaptic potentials.3. The short-latency coupling potential was shown to be mediated through an electrical synapse by observing a voltage change in one touch cell when current was injected into its neighbour. It was not abolished by high concentrations of Mg in the bathing fluid, which blocked chemical synapses in this ganglion. This electrical synapse displayed remarkable rectification; a depolarization could spread from cell to cell in both directions, while a hyperpolarization could spread in neither.4. The inhibitory potentials were reversed by injecting Cl into the cell. In Cl-free Ringer solution this effect was so marked that the reversed IPSPs caused long trains of impulses in touch cells, which tended to excite each other by a process of positive feed-back.5. Synaptic potentials evoked by activation of a touch cell did not usually reach threshold since excitation and inhibition tended to cancel. The connexions between touch cells that mediated the delayed excitatory and inhibitory potentials are polysynaptic; the interneurones have not yet been found but some of their connexions could be inferred from electrical recordings.6. Action potentials in sensory cells of a different modality (responding to pressure) also initiated synaptic potentials in the same family of touch cells.7. The possible significance for integration of these synaptic interactions between sensory cells is discussed.

A spinocerebellar climbing fibre path activated by the flexor reflex afferents from all four limbs

1. A pathway ascending in the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord and terminating as climbing fibres in the cerebellar anterior lobe has been investigated in decerebrate cats with the cord partially transected in the third cervical segment sparing only part of the left lateral funiculus. The climbing fibre responses evoked in Purkinje cells were studied by recording from single cells and by recording the mass activity at the cerebellar surface.2. The pathway is activated by the flexor reflex afferents from all four limbs. It ascends in an area of the lateral funiculus which partly overlaps that of the dorsolateral spino-olivocerebellar path (Larson, Miller & Oscarsson, 1969) but also extends more ventrally. The pathway conducts relatively fast in the spinal cord and is considerably delayed in the brain stem suggesting several interneurones at that level. It projects to a narrow sagittal zone in lobule V of the pars intermedia (Fig. 4).3. It is not known if the pathway relays in the inferior olive and it has provisionally been denoted the LF-CF-SCP (lateral funiculus-climbing fibre-spinocerebellar path).4. The Purkinje cells were usually activated by the flexor reflex afferents from all four limbs with equal effectiveness. On natural stimulation responses were obtained on deep pressure of the limbs.5. The pathway and its functional significance are discussed.

Termination and functional organization of the dorsolateral spino-olivocerebellar path

1. Pathways ascending in the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord and terminating as climbing fibres in the anterior lobe of the cerebellum have been investigated in decerebrate cats with the cord partially transected in the third cervical segment, sparing only part of the left lateral funiculus. The climbing fibre responses evoked in Purkinje cells by electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves were studied by recording from single cells and by recording the mass activity at the cerebellar surface.2. Two pathways have been distinguished. One ascends through the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus and relays in the inferior olive. It is denoted the dorsolateral spino-olivocerebellar path (DLF-SOCP) and forms the subject of this paper. The other path occupies in part a more ventral position in the lateral funiculus and it is not known if it relays in the inferior olive. It is denoted the LF-CF-SCP (lateral funiculus-climbing fibre-spinocerebellar path).3. The DLF-SOCP is activated predominantly by cutaneous afferents from restricted areas in the ipsilateral paws. The relay in the spinal cord is almost certainly monosynaptic, but a long delay in the brain stem suggests that the path is interrupted by several synapses at this level. The pathway terminates in the pars intermedia in sagittal zones with a somatotopical organization (Fig. 12).4. Components of the DLF-SOCP and the dorsal spino-olivocerebellar path converge onto the same olivary neurones which project to the pars intermedia and it is concluded on this evidence that the DLF-SOCP also relays in the inferior olive.5. The DLF-SOCP is compared with the other known spinocerebellar paths terminating as climbing fibres in the anterior lobe. The functional role of these paths and the general significance of the sagittal projection patterns are discussed.

After-effects of nerve impulses on signalling in the central nervous system of the leech

A long-lasting hyperpolarization has been observed in sensory neurones of the C.N.S. of the leech following natural stimulation applied to their receptive fields. The underlying mechanism of this hyperpolarization and its effects on signalling were investigated by intracellular recording.1. The amplitude and duration of the hyperpolarization depended on the number of action potentials. Whereas a brief burst of impulses had little effect, a prolonged sensory discharge was followed by a hyperpolarization of up to 30 mV that gradually declined over a period of several minutes.2. The hyperpolarization was abolished by ouabain, reversibly inhibited by strophanthidin or cooling, unaffected by Mg and accompanied by an increase in membrane resistance. These observations suggest that the hyperpolarization is the result of membrane current generated by an electrogenic pump.3. A hyperpolarization similar to that recorded in the cell body also occurred in the neuronal processes within the neuropile, where synaptic contacts are made. This led to significant changes in integrative activity, such as an increase in the amplitude of excitatory synaptic potentials, a reversal of inhibitory synaptic potentials or a conduction block in parts of the neurones. All of these effects could be mimicked by injecting hyperpolarizing currents into resting cells, or abolished by injecting a depolarizing current into a cell hyperpolarized by previous impulses.4. During neuronal hyperpolarization the sensitivity of the membrane potential to small increments of external K was enhanced by a factor of about three. This effect varied with the magnitude of the hyperpolarization produced by preceding impulses and could not be mimicked by applying K to a neurone hyperpolarized by the injection of current into its cell body.5. These findings are discussed in relation to possible effects that changes in the intracellular and extracellular concentrations of ions produced by activity might have on integration in the C.N.S.

Afferent pathways of stressful stimuli: corticotropin release after partial deafferentation of the medial basal hypothalamus

Corticotrophin (ACTH) release induced by various stressful stimuli has been studied in rats with antero-lateral deafferentation of the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH). The plasma corticosterone level was determined as an index of ACTH release.

In rats with antero-lateral deafferentation of the MBH, ACTH release was prevented after exposure to noise and vibration, sham adrenalectomy and s.c. injection of 1% formalin. ACTH release induced by the injection of histamine (1 mg./100 g., i.p.) and capsaicin (0·25 mg./100 g., s.c.) was significantly less than in the controls. Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (25 μg./100 g., i.p.) induced an ACTH release that could not be distinguished from that in the controls.

We suggest that (a) noise and vibration, sham adrenalectomy and injection of 1% formalin trigger ACTH release through neural pathways arriving at the MBH from anterior, lateral and dorsal directions, (b) histamine or capsaicin releases ACTH partly through antero-lateral neural afferents to the MBH. In contrast, the ACTH-releasing stimulus of bacterial endotoxin injection reaches the hypothalamo—hypophysial unit by humoral pathways and/or posterior nerve fibres.