Form and function of dorsal horn neurones with axons ascending the dorsal columns in cat

1. Extracellular and intracellular recordings were made from dorsal horn neurones sending their axons through the dorsal columns in cats anaesthetized with chloralose and paralysed with gallamine triethiodide. 2. Seventeen neurones were injected with horseradish peroxidase through the intracellular micro-electrode, recovered from the histological material and shown to send their axons into the dorsal columns. 3. The cells had axonal conduction velocities of 30--47 ms-1; excitatory receptive fields that usually showed multireceptive characteristics, often including input from sensitive mechanoreceptors in glabrous skin; a third of the sample had a marked subliminal fringe to the excitatory field; inhibitory fields were usually situated proximal to the excitatory field and contiguous with it. 4. The cells were located in laminae III, IV and medial V. Dorsal cells had restricted dendritic trees that ascended in an essentially cylindrical volume of tissue through lamina II and often into I; cells intermediate in depth had more primary dendrites than the others, usually dorsally directed into lamina II, and a more extensive rostro-caudal development; deep, medial cells had dendritic trees that radiated extensively from the cell body but were restricted to the transverse plane. Two cells had axons that ascended the dorsolateral funiculus for a few mm before re-entering the dorsal horn, crossing it and reaching the dorsal columns. Collaterals were given off the axons in the grey matter, in the dorsolateral funiculus and the dorsal columns. 5. The form and function of the neurones are discussed.