Excitatory connections of nonspiking interneurones in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the crayfish.

Abstract

The output effects of the nonspiking interneurones in the crayfish terminal abdominal ganglion upon the uropod motor neurones were characterized using simultaneous intracellular recordings. Inhibitory interactions from nonspiking interneurones to the uropod motor neurones were one-way and chemically mediated. The depolarization of the motor neurones with current injection increased the amplitude of the nonspiking interneurone-mediated hyperpolarization, while hyperpolarization of the motor neurone decreased it. By contrast, excitatory interactions from the nonspiking interneurones to the motor neurones were not mediated via chemical synaptic transmissions. These excitatory connections with the slow motor neurones were one-way while connections with fast motor neurones were bidirectional. Nonspiking interneurone-mediated membrane depolarization of the motor neurones was not affected by the passage of hyperpolarizing current. Each motor neurone spike elicited a time-locked EPSP in the nonspiking interneurones with very short delay (0.2ms) that suggested electrical coupling between nonspiking interneurones and motor neurones. Nonspiking interneurones directly control the organization of slow motor neurone activity, while they appear to regulate the background activity of the fast motor neurones. A single nonspiking interneurone is possible to inhibit some inter and/or motor neurones via direct chemical synapses and simultaneously excite other neurones via electrical synapses.