Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

On the Organization of Cutaneous and Muscle Nerve Projections in the Rat Lumbar Dorsal Horn

  • Chapter
The Primary Afferent Neuron

Abstract

Central conduction of sensory information from the periphery includes two different functions: to specify the characteristics of the stimuli in terms of sensory modalities, and to inform about stimulus localization. Subpopulations of primary sensory neurons concerned with different types of stimuli and morphological prerequisites for stimulus localization created by the generally restricted peripheral innervations areas of these neurons are essential in fulfilling these tasks. Separation of different types of stimuli and stimulus localization is present also at higher levels: in the spinal cord, brainstem, thalamus and cerebral cortex. Thus, observations in physiological studies have indicated that afferent fibers for different sensory modalities are connected to separated groups of second order sensory neurons which differ with regard to their dorsoventral location within, for instance, the spinal gray matter (for reviews see Willis and Coggeshall, 1978; Brown, 1981). Furthermore, other physiological observations have suggested a somatotopic pattern in the localization of these second order neurons, where each point in the periphery is represented at a specific site along the mediolateral extent of the dorsal horn (cf., Wall, 1960; Bryan et al., 1973; Brown and Fuchs, 1975; Light and Durkovic, 1984; Wilson et al., 1986).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abrahams, V. C., Richmond, F. J., and Keane, J., 1984, Projections from C2 and C3 nerves supplying muscles and skin of the cat neck: a study using transganglionic transport of horseradish peroxidase, J. Comp. Neurol., 230:142–154

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Abrahams, V. C., and Swett, J. E., 1986, The pattern of spinal and medullary projections from a cutaneous nerve and a muscle nerve of the forelimb in the cat: a study using the transganglionic transport of HRP, J. Comp. Neurol., 246:70–84

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ammann, B., Gottschall, J., and Zenker, W., 1983, Afferent projections from the rat longus capitis muscle studied by transganglionic transport of HRP, Anat. Embryol., 6:275–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arvidsson, J., 1982, Somatotopic organization of vibrissae afferents in the trigeminal sensory nuclei of the rat studied by transganglionic transport of HRP, J. Comp. Neurol., 211:84–92

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, D. A., Richmond, F. J. R., and Abrahams, V. C., 1984, Central projections from cat suboccipital muscles: a study using transganglionic transport of horseradish peroxidase, J. Comp. Neurol., 228:409–421

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. G., 1981, “Organization in the spinal cord,” Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. G., Rose, P. K., and Snow, J. P., 1977, The morphology of hair follicle afferent fibre collaterals in the spinal cord of the cat, J. Physiol. (Lond.), 272:779–797

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P. B., and Fuchs, J. L., 1975, Somatotopic representation of hindlimb skin in cat dorsal horn, J. Physiol. (Lond.), 38:1–9

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brushart, T. M., and Mesulam, M.-M., 1980, Transganglionic demonstration of central sensory projections from skin and muscle with HRP-lectin conjugates, Neurosci. Lett., 17:1–6

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan, R. N., Trevino, D. L., Coulter, J. D., and Willis, W. D., 1973, Location and somatotopic organization of the cells of origin of the spino-cervical tract, Exp. Brain Res., 17:177–189

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carson, K. A., and Mesulam, M.-M., 1982, Ultrastructural evidence in mice that transganglionically transported horseradish peroxidase-wheat germ agglutinin conjugate reaches the intraspinal terminations of sensory neurons, Neurosci. Lett., 29:201–206

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, A. D., and Mense, S., 1983, The distribution of afferent fibers from the gastrocnemius-soleus muscle in the dorsal horn of the cat, as revealed by the transport of horseradish peroxidase, Neurosci. Lett., 41:233–238

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Culberson, J. L., Haines, D. E., Kimmel, D. L., and Brown, P. B., 1979, Contralateral projection of primary afferent fibers to mammalian spinal cord, Exp. Neurol., 64:83–97

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeGroat, W. C., Nadelhaft, I., Morgan, C., and Schauble, T., 1978, Horseradish peroxidase tracing of visceral efferent and primary afferent pathways in the cat’s sacral spinal cord using benzidine processing, Neurosci. Lett., 10:103–108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Devor, M., and Claman, D., 1980, Mapping and plasticity of acid phosphatase afferents in the rat dorsal horn, Brain Res., 190:17–28

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, M., and Swett, J., 1983, The termination pattern of sciatic nerve afferents in the substantia gelatinosa of neonatal rats, Neurosci. Lett., 43:149–154

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fyffe, R. E. W., and Light, A. R, 1984, The ultrastructure of group Ia afferent fiber synapses in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the cat, Brain Res., 300:201–209

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonatas, N. K., Harper, C., Mizutani, T.,and Gonatas, J. O., 1979, Superior sensitivity of conjugates of horseradish peroxidase with wheat germ agglutinin for studies of retrograde axonal transport, J. Histochem. Cytochem., 37:728–734

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, G., Arvidsson, J., Robertson, B., and Ygge, J., 1979, Transganglionic transport of horseradish peroxidase in primary sensory neurons, Neurosci. Lett., 12:23–28

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, M. A., and Westrum, L. E., 1988, Comparative central representation of maxillary and mandibular dental structures, Soc. Neurosci. Abstr., 14:1164

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishizuka, N., Mannen, H., Hongo, T., and Sasaki, S., 1979, Trajectory of group Ia afferent fibers stained with horseradish peroxidase in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the cat: three dimensional reconstructions from serial sections, J. Comp. Neurol., 186:189–212

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jhaveri, S., and Frank, E., 1983, Central projections of the brachial nerve in bullfrogs: muscle and cutaneous afferents project to different regions of the spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 221:304–312

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L. R, Westrum, L. E., and Canfield, R. C., 1983, Ultrastructural study of transganglionic degeneration following dental lesions, Exp. Brain Res., 52:226–234

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kalia, M., Mei, S. S., and Kao, F. F., 1981, Central projections from ergoreceptors (C-fibers) in muscle involved in cardiopulmonary responses to static exercise, Circulat. Res., 48, Suppl. I, 48–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Knyihár-Csillik, E., and Csillik, B., 1981, FRAP: Histochemistry of the primary nociceptive neuron, Progress in Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, 14, 1

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koerber, R. H., and Brown, P. B., 1980, Projections of two hindlimb cutaneous nerves to cat dorsal horn, J. Neurophysiol., 44:259–269

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koerber, R. H., and Brown, P. B., 1982, Somatotopic organization of hindlimb cutaneous nerve projections to cat dorsal horn, J. Neurophysiol., 48:481–489

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumazawa, T., and Perl, E. R., 1978, Excitation of marginal and substantia gelatinosa neurons in the primate spinal cord: Indications of their place in dorsal horn functional organization, J. Comp. Neurol., _177:417–434

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • LaMotte, C., 1977, Distribution of the tract of Lissauer and the dorsal root fibers in the primate spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 172:529–562

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Light, A. R., and Durkovic, R. G., 1984, Features of laminar and somatotopic organization of lumbar spinal cord units receiving cutaneous inputs from hindlimb receptive fields, J. Neurophysiol., 52:449–458

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Light, A. R., and Perl, E. R., 1977, Differential termination of large diameter and small diameter primary afferent fibers in the spinal dorsal gray matter as indicated by labeling with horseradish peroxidase, Neurosci. Lett., 6:59–63

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Light, A. R, and Perl, E. R, 1979a, Reexamination of the dorsal root projection to the spinal dorsal horn including observations on the differential termination of course and fine fibers, J. Comp. Neurol., 186:117–132

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Light, A. R, and Perl, E. R, 1979b, Spinal termination of functionally identified primary afferent neurons with slowly conducting myelinated fibers, J. Comp. Neurol., 186:133–150

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McMahon, S. B., and Wall, P. D., 1985, The distribution and central termination of single cutaneous and muscle unmyelinated fibers in the rat spinal cord, Brain Res., 359:39–48

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mesulam, M.-M., and Brushart, T. M., 1979, Transganglionic and anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase across dorsal root ganglia: a tetramethylbenzidine method for tracing central sensory connections of muscles and peripheral nerves, Neurosci., 4:1107–1117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mesulam, M.-M., Hegarty, E., Barbas, H., Carson, K. A., Gower, E. C., Knapp, A. G., Moss, M. B., and Mufson, E. J., 1980, Additional factors influencing sensitivity in the tetrametylbenzidine method for horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry, J. Histochem. Cytochem., 28:1255–1259

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Molander, C., Xu, Q., and Grant, G., 1984, The cytoarchitectonic organization of the spinal cord in the rat. I. The lower thoracic and lumbosacral cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 230:133–141

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Molander, C., and Grant, G., 1985, Cutaneous projections from the hindlimb foot to the substantia gelatinosa studied by transganglionic transport of WGA-HRP conjugate, J. Comp. Neurol., 237:476–484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Molander, C., and Grant, G., 1986, Laminar distribution and somatotopic organization of primary afferent fibers from hindlimb nerves in the dorsal horn. A study by transganglionic transport of horseradish peroxidase in the rat, Neurosci., 191:297–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molander, C., and Grant, G., 1987, Spinal cord projections from hindlimb muscle nerves in the rat studied by transganglionic transport using HRP, WGA-HRP, or HRP with DMSO, J. Comp. Neurol., 260:246–255

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagy, J. I., and Hunt, S. P., 1983, The termination of primary afferents within the rat dorsal horn: evidence for rearrangement following capsaicin treatment, J. Comp. Neurol., 218:145–158

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nishimori, T., Sera, M., Suemune, S., Yoshida, A., Tsuru, K., Tsuiki, Y., Akisaka, T., Okamoto, T., Dateoka, Y., and Shigenaga, Y., 1986, The distribution of muscle primary afferents from the masseter nerve to the trigeminal sensory nuclei, Brain Res., 372:375–381

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nyberg, G., and Blomqvlst, A., 1984, The central projection of muscle afferent fibers to the lower medulla and upper spinal cord: An anatomical study in the cat with the transganglionic transport method, J. Comp. Neurol., 230:99–109

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nyberg, G., and Blomqvlst, A., 1985, The somatotopic organization of forelimb cutaneous nerves in the brachial dorsal horn: An anatomical study in the cat, J. Comp. Neurol., 242:28–39

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pomeranz, B., Wall, P. D., and Weber, W. V., 1968, Cord cells responding to fine myelinated afferents from viscera, muscle and skin, J. Physiol. (Lond.), 199:511–532

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Réthelyi, M., 1977, Preterminal and terminal axon arborizations in the substantia gelatinosa of cat’s spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 172:511–528

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Réthelyi, M., Trevino, D. L., and Perl, E. R., 1979, Distribution of primary afferent fibers within the sacrococcygeal dorsal horn: An autoradiographic study, J. Comp. Neurol., 185:603–622

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, B., and Arvidsson, J., 1985, Transganglionic transport of wheat germ agglutinin-HRP and choleragenoid-HRP in rat trigeminal primary sensory neurons, Brain Res., 348:44–51

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schouenborg, J., 1984, Functional and topographical properties of field potentials evoked in rat dorsal horn by cutaneous C-fiber stimulation, J. Physiol. (Lond.), 356:169–192

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shigenaga, Y., Nishimori, T., Suemune, S., Chen, Y. C., Nasution, I. D., Sato, H., Okamoto, T., Sera, M., Tabuchi, K., Kagawa, K., and Hosoi, M., 1984, Laminar-related projection of primary trigeminal fibers in the caudal medulla demonstrated by transganglionic transport of horseradish peroxidase, Brain Res., 309:341–345

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C., 1983, The development and postnatal organization of primary afferent projections to the rat thoracic spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 220:29–43

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, Y., Lee, C. L., and Perl, E. R., 1986, Central projections of identified, unmyelinated (c) afferent fibers innervating mammalian skin, Science, 234:358–361

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swett, J. E., 1983, Few C-fibers from muscle terminate in lamina n of the spinal cord of the cat, J. Physiol. (Lond.), 345:157P

    Google Scholar 

  • Swett, J. E., and Woolf, C. J., 1985, The somatotopic organization of primary afferent terminals in the superficial dorsal horn of the rat spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 231:66–77

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wall, P. D., 1960, Cord cells responding to touch, damage and temperature of skin, J. Neurophysiol., 23:197–210

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, W. D., and Coggeshall, R. E., 1978, “Sensory Mechanisms of the Spinal Cord,” Wiley and Sons, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, P., Meyers, D. E. R., and Snow, P. J., 1986, The detailed somatotopic organization of the dorsal horn in the lumbosacral enlargement of the cat spinal cord, J. Neurophysiol., 553:604–617

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolf, C.-J., 1987, Central terminations of cutaneous mechanoreceptive afferents in the rat lumbar spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 261:105–119

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Woolf, C.-J., and Fitzgerald, M., 1986, Somatotopic organization of cutaneous afferent terminals and dorsal horn neuronal receptive fields in the superficial and deep laminae of the rat lumbar spinal cord, J. Comp. Neurol., 251:517–531

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ygge, J., and Grant, G., 1983, The organization of the thoracic spinal nerve projection in the rat dorsal horn demonstrated with transganglionic transport of horseradish peroxidase, J. Comp. Neurol., 216:1–9

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Anatomy, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    C. Molander & G. Grant

Authors
  1. C. Molander
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Grant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich-Irchel, Zurich, Switzerland

    Wolfgang Zenker  & Winfried L. Neuhuber  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1990 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Molander, C., Grant, G. (1990). On the Organization of Cutaneous and Muscle Nerve Projections in the Rat Lumbar Dorsal Horn. In: Zenker, W., Neuhuber, W.L. (eds) The Primary Afferent Neuron. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0579-8_13

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0579-8_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7875-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0579-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation