Characterization of spinal somatosensory neurons having receptive fields in lumbar tissues of cats

In pentobarbital anesthetized cats, extracellular unitary recordings were made from neurons in the extreme lateral dorsal horn of spinal segments L4-5. All 118 units reported had receptive fields in deep somatic tissues and/or skin of the lumbar region, hip and/or proximal leg. Neurons were functionally characterized according to their responses to non-noxious and noxious mechanical stimuli and to injections of algogens. Most neurons (92%) were either wide-dynamic range (WDR) or nociceptive specific (NS), and most of these had very large nociceptive receptive fields in the back/hip/leg that included both skin and deep somatic tissues innervated through both the dorsal (back/hip) and ventral (leg/ventral spine) rami. Most (72%) were 'hyperconvergent' in that they were responsive to stimulation of many different somatic tissues including skin, muscles, facet joint capsules, ligaments, and periosteum. Some units were tested and found also to be activated by noxious stimulation of spinal dura and ventral annulus fibrosis and ventral longitudinal ligament. Twelve of 22 neurons tested were found to have ascending axons extending beyond Th10. The nocireceptive neurons (NS and WDR) in the population tested are suitable for processing information about tissue damage in deep somatic tissues in the back, hip and proximal leg. The apparent relative paucity of such neurons and their very large hyperconvergent receptive fields suggest that sensations served by these neurons, such as low back and referred leg pain, would be neither well localized nor attributable to pathology in a specific tissue. These deductions, based on physiological characteristics in cats, are consistent with clinical reports from humans who experience pain as a consequence of spinal or paraspinal injuries.