Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1976 Oct 28;26(3):215-34.
doi: 10.1007/BF00234928.

Spinal branching of corticospinal axons in the cat

Spinal branching of corticospinal axons in the cat

Y Shinoda et al. Exp Brain Res. .

Abstract

Branching patterns of single corticospinal (CS) neurons were studied in the cat by activating these neurons antidromically from various regions of the spinal cord. 1. One hundred and ninety-three neurons were activated antidromically by microstimulation in the gray substance of the cervical cord and the majority of them were found in the forelimb area of the pericruciate cortex. 2. Branches to the lower levels of the spinal cord were found for 30% of the neurons projecting to the cervical gray matter. 3. The remaining 70% sent axons only to the cervical gray matter and some of them sent multiple branches to several segments in the cervical cord. 4. Only a few CS neurons located outside of the forelimb area could be activated from the cervical cord, but all of them also sent branches to the lower levels of the spinal cord. Neurons projecting to both the cervical cord and the lower levels were intermingled in the cortex with those projecting only to the cervical cord. 5. CS neurons activated from a given area of the cervical cord were often clustered together in a small area of the cortex, although some of these CS neurons sent their other branches to other parts of the spinal cord and neurons projecting to other parts were also intermingled among them. 6. The functional significance of multiple axonal branching of CS neurons is discussed in relation to cortical motor functions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Exp Brain Res. 1976 Dec 22;26(5):443-61 - PubMed
    1. Brain Res. 1975 Oct 10;96(1):103-7 - PubMed
    1. Brain Res. 1975 Oct 24;97(1):33-46 - PubMed
    1. J Physiol. 1975 Aug;249(3):637-67 - PubMed
    1. Exp Brain Res. 1975 Oct 24;23(4):333-51 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources