Influences of contralateral nerve and skin stimulation on neurones in the substantia gelatinosa of the rat spinal cord

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Fitzgerald, Maria
Copyright Year	1983
Abstract	Stimulation of high threshold A delta and C fibre peripheral afferents inhibits dorsal horn cells on the other side of the spinal cord. The substantia gelatinosa (SG) is an area full of interneurones known to have commissural connections across the spinal cord. The role of SG in this contralateral inhibitory pathway is investigated here. Forty-three SG cells were recorded in the lumbar dorsal horn of decerebrate spinal rats. Their ipsilateral excitatory receptive fields and responses to sciatic nerve stimulation were recorded. Repetitive electrical stimulation was then applied to the contralateral sciatic nerve. Eight (19%) units were excited by such stimulation. A brief tetanus was followed by an increase of ongoing activity lasting 30 s to 10 min. These cells did not, however, have excitatory contralateral fields. A small separate group of 4 cells (9%) were mildly inhibited by heating or pinching the contralateral limb. The significance of contralateral excitation of some SG cells is discussed in the light of the predominantly inhibitory contralateral effect on dorsal horn cells in laminae 4 and 5. It is suggested that some SG cells may be inhibitory interneurones in their effect on deeper cells.
Starting Page	139
Ending Page	143
Page Count	5
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.1016/0304-3940(83)90255-0
PubMed reference number	6306518
Journal	Medline
Volume Number	36
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/pii/0304394083902550
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0304394083902550?dgcid=api_sd_search-api-endpoint
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940%2883%2990255-0
Journal	Neuroscience Letters
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article