Effects from the vestibulospinal tract on transmission from primary afferents to ventral spino-cerebellar tract neurones

Abstract

Convergence of vestibulospinal and segmental effects onto spinal interneurones which project to the ventral spino-cerebellar tract (VSCT) neurones has been studied by intracellular recording in VSCT cells. The disynaptic Ia IPSPs evoked in a group of VSCT neurones from the quadriceps nerve are monosynaptically facilitated by the vestibulospinal tract while there was no facilitation of Ia IPSP evoked from a flexor nerve. These results support the view that Ia inhibition to VSCT cells and motoneurones is mediated by common interneurones. The disynaptic inhibition evoked in other VSCT cells from the vestibulospinal tract is facilitated by volleys in the contralateral flexor reflex afferents (FRA) or bilaterally from the FRA. It is postulated that these actions are mediated by collaterals of the interneurones responsible for the analogous effects in motoneurones. Findings are reported suggesting that the monosynaptic vestibulospinal EPSP in VSCT cells in most cases is collateral to the excitatory input to the last order interneurones of reflex pathways from the FRA to motoneurones and only exceptionally to the corresponding input to Ia inhibitory interneurones. In many VSCT cells the vestibulospinal tract evoked disynaptic EPSPs which are facilitated from the FRA; the functional significance of this action is uncertain. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that VSCT neurones signal information on interneuronal transmission to motoneurones.