Precision and variability of hindlimb representation in cat dorsal horn and implications for tactile localization.

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1. One hundred fifty-eight cells were recorded extracellularly in rows of tracks spanning both left and right dorsal horns, at segmental boundaries and midsegment in segments L5-S1, in six anesthetized cats. For each cell the low-threshold cutaneous mechano-receptive field was determined with the use of hand-held probes, and the recording site was marked with a microlesion. Recording sites were reconstructed, and the mediolateral (ML) and rostrocaudal (RC) locations of each cell were recorded along with the location of the cell's receptive field, expressed as distance from tips of toes (D). 2. Ninety-five percent of pairs of cells recorded from bilaterally symmetric locations (+/- 10%) in the same animal had receptive fields on opposite legs that had components that were mirror symmetric. Only 42% of cell pairs deviating from bilateral symmetry by approximately +/- 240 microns had receptive fields with overlapping components. This indicated that there was a substantial bilateral symmetry that was not simply due to large receptive fields. 3. The trajectories of receptive fields of cells in a single row of tracks were plotted in order of mediolateral recording site, going from medial to lateral, combining both sides. These trajectories followed a distoproximal course on the leg. Of 144 adjacent cells used to plot these trajectories, with an average spacing of approximately 120 microns, only 6 reversals of the distoproximal gradient polarity were observed within animals. 4. Data from individual animals were shifted rostrally and caudally, to obtain best agreement of mediolateral somatotopic gradients with the combined data from the other animals in the sample. Best agreement was obtained with shifts ranging from 0.3 segment rostral to 0.4 segment caudal, with an average absolute value shift of 0.22 segment. 5. By comparing cell pairs within the same dorsal horn, on opposite sides of the same animal, and across animals, variability in cell placement given the average map and the receptive field could be calculated. Interanimal variability and bilateral asymmetry were approximately +/- 60 microns, and within-dorsal horn variability was approximately +/- 35 microns. The interanimal variability is equivalent to a variability of distoproximal receptive-field location on the leg of +/- 13 mm, with a smaller variability in areas of high magnification (e.g., the toes), and a larger variability in areas with small magnification (e.g., the thigh). This degree of variability is consistent with the ability of animals with transected dorsal columns to localize tactile stimuli with a normal degree of precision.