The effects of neural stalk stimulation upon firing patterns in rat supraoptic neurones

Antidromically identified neurones were recorded from the supraoptic nucleus of urethane-anaesthetized rats. In test periods of about 10 min, each recorded action potential was followed 1 ms later by a shock to the neural stalk. In phasically firing cells, this stimulation consistently modified the observed firing pattern: burst length was shortened but intraburst activity was unchanged. The stimulation invaded most supraoptic neurones antidromically, but antidromic spikes evoked in the recorded neurone were extinguished by collision. Thus, the observed changes in firing pattern were probably the consequence of interaction between the recorded unit and other neurones projecting to the neural stalk--most probably other supraoptic neurones. The behaviour of continuously firing supraoptic neurones was studied following single shocks and following trains of shocks. The results suggest that the widely reported evidence for recurrent inhibition in the rat supraoptic nucleus has been misinterpreted, and that inhibition cannot be demonstrated in most supraoptic neurones following single shocks to the neural stalk. However, the experiments using trains of shocks produced evidence consistent with a complex interaction between magnocellular neurosecretory cells involving both excitation and inhibition.