Physiological and morphological characteristics of periodontal mesencephalic trigeminal neurons in the cat--intra-axonal staining with HRP.

Intra-axonal recording and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injection techniques were employed to define the response properties of periodontal mechanoreceptive afferents originating from the trigeminal mesencephalic nucleus (Vmes) and their morphological characteristics. The periodontal Vmes neurons were classified into two types: slowly adapting (SA) and fast adapting (FA) types. The central terminals of 7 SA and 4 FA afferents were recovered for detailed analyses. The whole profile of SA and FA neurons were unipolar in shape and their cell bodies were located in the dorsomedial parts of the Vmes. The united (U) fiber traveled caudally from the soma to the dorsolateral aspect of the trigeminal motor nucleus (Vmo), where it split into the peripheral (P) and C fibers with a T- or Y-shaped appearance. The P fiber joined the trigeminal sensory or motor tract. The C fiber descended caudally within Probst's tract. All 3 stem fibers issued main collaterals. The main collaterals of all neurons examined formed terminal arbors in the supratrigeminal nucleus (Vsup) and all but two SA neurons projected to the intertrigeminal region (Vint), while the projections to other nuclei of the trigeminal motor nucleus (Vmo), juxtatrigeminal region (Vjux), main sensory nucleus (Vp) and oral nucleus (Vo.r) differed between SA and FA afferents and between neurons of the same type. The SA and FA neurons were classified into three and two subgroups, respectively. The major differences in central projections between the two types were that all the FA neurons projected to the Vp or Vo.r but none of SA type and this relation was reversed in the projection to the Vjux, and that more than half of SA neurons projected to Vmo but only one FA neuron to the Vmo. The Vmes neurons which sent their collaterals into the Vmo had the P fiber passing through the tract of the trigeminal motor nerve. The average size of somata and mean diameters of U fibers and main collaterals from C fiber were significantly larger in SA neurons than FA neurons. The average size of fiber varicosities became smaller in the following nuclei, Vmo, Vsup, Vp, Vint and Vo.r, but not significant between the two functional types. The functional role of the periodontal Vmes afferents to jaw reflexes was discussed particularly with respect to their central projection sites in the brainstem nuclei.