The sensitivity of Renshaw cells to velocity of sinusoidal stretches of the triceps surae muscle.
1. The electrical activity of Renshaw cells monosynaptically excited by ventral root stimulation and disynaptically excited by electric stimulation of the group I afferents in the GS nerve has been recorded and their response to individual sinusoidal stretches of the deefferented GS muscle tested for different amplitudes and durations of the stimulus. 2. The experimental data indicate that the Rensahw cell responses are not only length dependent but also rate dependent. This finding indicates that the same Renshaw cells receive recurrent collaterals of both tonic and phasic motoneurons. 3. The observation that the discharge of Renshaw cells is particularly sensitive to the velocity of stretch suggests that the recurrent collaterals of large phasic motoneurons, which are recruited during high velocity stretches, exert a stronger excitatory action on Renshaw cells than do axon collaterals of the smaller tonic motoneurons, which are selectively stimulated during low velocity stretches.
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006614:Hindlimb; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways