Evidence for separate morphological classes of Renshaw cells in the cat's spinal cord

Abstract

Although some functions of Renshaw cells are well defined, pharmacological evidence suggests that there may be more than one type of Renshaw cell involved in recurrent inhibition of motoneurons, or one type employing more than one inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitter. Identified Renshaw cells were intracellularly stained with horseradish peroxidase (HRP), revealing the existence of a distinctive group of fusiform neurons as well as the more common multipolar cells. The fusiform neurons may represent a subgroup of Renshaw cells having separate functions and/or synaptic mediators.