Postnatal loss of synaptic terminals in the normal mouse soleus muscle

Using conventional physiological techniques for measuring unitary contractions and end-plate potentials (epps), the number, size and segmental properties of motor units (MUs) in the soleus muscle of the mouse during postnatal development have been examined. The number of MUs remains constant after birth, and there is no evidence of segmental preferences in the innervation pattern, before, during or after the postnatal elimination of redundant terminals. In neonates, MU size estimates based on twitch contractions are 30% smaller than tetanic estimates. Intracellular recording of epps shows that this is caused by facilitation of epps on repetitive stimulation. The frequency of occurrence of epps in the muscle from a few, isolated motor axons shows that the average motoneuron contacts 36% of the fibres in the muscle neonatally. A substantial fraction of the contacts is subthreshold for twitch activation of their fibre. The MU size remains constant up to day 5. During the next 10 days, the MU size is reduced to the mature value of 5% of the fibres in the muscle. It is concluded that the neonatal loss of synaptic terminals in this muscle takes place without concomitant loss of entire motor neurons, and that it is independent of possible segmental preferences in the innervation of the muscle.