Tuning of spinal networks to frequency components of spike trains in individual afferents

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Cord dorsum potentials (CDPs) evoked by primary afferent fiber stimulation reflect the response of postsynaptic dorsal horn neurons. The properties of these CDPs have been shown to vary in accordance with the type of primary afferent fiber stimulated. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationships between frequency modulation of the afferent input trains, the amplitude modulation of the evoked CDPs, and the type of primary afferent stimulated. The somata of individual primary afferent fibers were impaled in the L7 dorsal root ganglion of alpha-chloralose-anesthetized cats. Action potentials (APs) were evoked in single identified afferents via the intracellular microelectrode while simultaneously recording the response of dorsal horn neurons as CDPs, or activity of individual target interneurons recorded extracellularly or intracellularly. APs were evoked in afferents using temporal patterns identical to the responses of selected afferents to natural stimulation of their receptive fields. Two such physiologically realistic trains, one recorded from a hair follicle and the other from a slowly adapting type 1 receptor, were chosen as standard test trains. Modulation of CDP amplitude in response to this frequency-modulated afferent activity varied according to the type of peripheral mechanoreceptor innervated. Dorsal horn networks driven by A beta afferents innervating hair follicles, rapidly adapting pad (Krause end bulb), and field receptors seemed "tuned" to amplify the onset of activity in single afferents. Networks driven by afferents innervating down hair follicles and pacinian corpuscles required more high-frequency activity to elicit their peak response. Dorsal horn networks driven by afferents innervating slowly adapting receptors including high-threshold mechanoreceptors exhibited some sensitivity to the instantaneous frequency, but in general they reproduced the activity in the afferent fiber much more faithfully. Responses of synaptically coupled dorsal horn neurons belonging to either hair follicle or SA1 fiber-driven networks to frequency-modulated input were in agreement with the CDP results, confirming that CDP amplitude modulation is a true reflection of EPSP amplitude modulation in at least a subset of dorsal horn neurons comprising the network.