H-reflex down-conditioning greatly increases the number of identifiable GABAergic interneurons in rat ventral horn.
H-reflex down-conditioning increases GABAergic terminals on spinal cord motoneurons. To explore the origins of these terminals, we studied the numbers and distributions of spinal cord GABAergic interneurons. The number of identifiable GABAergic interneurons in the ventral horn was 78% greater in rats in which down-conditioning was successful than in naive rats or rats in which down-conditioning failed. No increase occurred in other spinal lamina or on the contralateral side. This finding supports the hypothesis that the corticospinal tract influence that induces the motoneuron plasticity underlying down-conditioning reaches the motoneuron through GABAergic interneurons in the ventral horn.
Wang
Yu
Y
Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, and School of Public Health, State University of New York, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA. ywang@wadsworth.org
Pillai
Shreejith
S
Wolpaw
Jonathan R
JR
Chen
Xiang Yang
XY
D000818:Animals; D000870:Anterior Horn Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D004576:Electromyography; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006181:H-Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007395:Interneurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid