Effect of conduction block at axon bifurcations on synaptic transmission to different postsynaptic neurones in the leech.

1. The cutaneous receptive field of the medial pressure (mP) sensory neurone in the leech has been examined. The cell has one major receptive field and an anterior and a posterior minor receptive field, principally on lateral and dorsal skin. The two minor receptive fields are contiguous with the major receptive field and are innervated by fine anterior and posterior axons, but there is no overlap between major and minor receptive fields. 2. At low frequencies of stimulation of the minor receptive fields, conduction block takes place in the mP cell at the central branch point within the leech ganglion. 3. The mP cell synapses directly with many other cells in the leech ganglion, including the anterior pagoda (AP) cell, longitudinal (L) motoneurone and the annulus erector (AE) motoneurone, which were studied as a group of postsynaptic neurones. Conduction block in the mP cell affects its synaptic transmission to all three postsynaptic neurones, but the effect can be different in different postsynaptic neurones. Block at the central branch point for an impulse travelling along the anterior axon reduces transmission to the AE cell much more than to the AP or L cells, while block at the central branch for an impulse travelling along the posterior axon has the reverse effect. 4. The distribution of functional connections of the branches of the mP cell with each postsynaptic cell was studied. For this analysis, branches of the mP cell were selectively silenced either during conduction block or by laser microsurgery. Generally, nearly all of the functional connections with the L and AP cell are made by anterior branches of the mP cell while the connection with the AE cell was primarily made by posterior branches of the mP cell. 5. The possible sites of contact between the mP cell and postsynaptic cells were determined by injecting separate markers into the mP cell and a postsynaptic cell. In confirmation of physiology, the mP cell's posterior branches had few, if any, contacts with the AP cell, while anterior branches had few, if any, contacts upon the AE cell. 6. Conduction block can thus act as a switch in the central nervous system (CNS), altering the mP cell's pattern of synaptic transmission to different postsynaptic neurons depending upon the region of a single sensory neurone's receptive field that is stimulated. This effect, dependent upon inputs to a single neurone, may be expected to influence the performance of the system and its outputs.