Pyramidal control of fusimotor neurons supplying extensor muscles in the cat's forelimb.

Abstract

The effects of cortical stimulation upon dynamic and static sensitivities of the sensory endings in muscle spindles have been analyzed. 63 single afferent fibers from the muscle spindles of the forelimb extensors: M. flexor carpi radialis, M. flexor digitorum communis and M. palmaris longus were isolated in dorsal root filaments in 20 adult cats under chloralose-urethane anesthesia. They were identified by their response to stimulation of the median nerve. 1. Surface anodal repetitive stimulation of the anterior sigmoid gyrus was found to produce an enhancement of static response of single Group II fibers. Effective area was localized in a restricted region which corresponded to the forelimb motor area. The effect was obtained without any concomitant muscle contraction. Similarly, the stimulation increased the resting discharges of the Group Ia fibers from the same muscles. 2. Stimulation of the same area in the cerebral cortex was also found to increase the dynamic sensitivities of primary sensory endings. The increase was revealed by an enhancement of initial burst discharge during relaxation period of a twitch contraction caused by median nerve stimulation. 3. These results indicate that stimulation of the forelimb motor area has a facilitatory effect on both the static and dynamic fusimotor neurons innervating the muscle spindles of the test muscles. 4. The effects were reproduced in pyramidal tract preparations in which the brainstem was cut either at the level of the midbrain except for the cerebral peduncle or at the level of caudal medulla oblongata sparing the pyramid. 5. The threshold for the fusimotor effects was less than 1.3–1.5 times threshold of the pyramidal tract discharge, when the best spot for eliciting the fusimotor response was chosen. These results indicate that the effects of cortical stimulation are mainly mediated by the fast conducting pyramidal tract fibers.