Unit Activity in the Isolated Spinal Cord of Chick Embryo, in Situ

  1. S. C. Sharma,
  2. R. R. Provine*,
  3. V. Hamburger, and
  4. T. T. Sandel
  1. DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
  2. DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Abstract

Unit electrical activity was recorded from single neurons in the isolated lumbo-sacral spinal cord of 14- to 19-day chick embryos, in situ. Spinal cord transection was combined with transection of all lumbo-sacral dorsal roots. The spontaneous discharge of cells is confined, for the most part, to the lower two thirds of the cord. A quasilinear reduction in the number of spontaneously active units was found during the developmental period studied. Comparable results were obtained in decentralized cord with sensory inputs blocked by xylocaine.

Footnotes

  • ↵ * Trainee under USPHS grant P10 ES 00139 through the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Washington University.

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  1. PNAS 1970-05 vol. 66 no. 1 40-47
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