Three-dimensional architecture of dendritic trees in type-identified alpha-motoneurons

We have studied the spatial distribution of dendrites of type-identified triceps surae alpha-motoneurons, labeled intracellularly with HRP, using a variety of analytical approaches that were designed to quantify the ways in which dendrites occupy three-dimensional space. All of the methods indicated a strong tendency for motoneuron dendrites to project radially. However, regions dorsal and ventral to the somata contained fewer dendritic elements, and less membrane area, than expected for complete radial symmetry. Individual dendrites projecting into these regions tended to be smaller than those projecting rostrocaudally or mediolaterally. Nevertheless, the center of mass of membrane area for five of six fully analyzed cells was within 100 micron of the soma and, in all six cells, was located in the same dorsoventral plane as the cell soma. Maps of the projection of dendritic branches onto concentric shells at various radial distances from the soma showed that some regions have high concentrations of branches, sometimes with considerable overlap between branches arising from different stem dendrites, while other regions have relatively few branches, or none at all. Each motoneuron exhibited a different pattern of projection and there were no systematic differences between fast-twitch (type F, including both types FF and FR units) and slow-twitch (type S) motoneurons evident in the patterns of dendritic concentration. Assessment of the three-dimensional territories of individual dendrites showed that dendrites with larger numbers of terminal branches tended to have larger spatial territories. Despite considerable scatter, the results suggest that the density of branches tends to be approximately the same in large and small dendrites, and in F and S cell groups. The results are discussed in relation to the spatial location of synaptic input to motoneurons.