Multiple innervation of normal and re-innervated parasympathetic neurones in the frog cardiac ganglion

Abstract

1. Multiple innervation of parasympathetic neurones was examined in normal and re-innervated frog cardiac ganglia. The number of synaptic inputs impinging upon individual ganglion cells was determined by recording intracellularly and stimulating the vagosympathetic nerves. 2. In unoperated cardiac ganglia most neurones (93%) received a large, suprathreshold synaptic input. Some ganglion cells received additional, small synaptic inputs. Roughly equal numbers of cells encountered were singly and doubly innervated, and only 8% received more than two inputs. 3. Re-innervation of cardiac ganglion cells began three weeks after bilateral crush of the vagosympathetic nerves. By 7 weeks more than 90% of the ganglion cells were re-innervated. At this stage the pattern of multiple innervation was significantly different than normal: doubly innervated neurones outnumbered singly innervated ones, and 31% of the cells encountered received more than two inputs. This pattern was stable for at least a year. 4. These results indicate that polyneuronal innervation of cardiac ganglion cells is more widespread after re-innervation than it is normally and, furthermore, that synapse elimination does not occur during re-innervation of these cells.