The pattern of monosynaptic Ia-connections to hindlimb motor nuclei in the baboon: a comparison with the cat.

The pattern of Ia-connections to motor nuclei of 17 hindlimb muscles (or groups of muscles) has been investigated in baboons by intracellular recording of Ia-e.ps.p.s evoked in motoneurons from different muscle nerves. The amplitudes are normalized to 70 mV resting potential and compared with similarly normalized Ia-e.ps.p.s in cats. As in the cat, Ia-excitation is drawn from a restricted number of muscles and the homonymous effect is usually dominating. Heteronymous connections to many motor nuclei are different in the two species. For example, hip extensors are generally more Ia-isolated from each other in baboons than in cats, and also knee flexors have fewer Ia-interconnections than in cats. A unidirectional Ia-synergism between some hip extensors and knee flexors in cats has changed to a bidirectional one in baboons, with a tendency to lateralization of the connections. Among ankle extensors, soleus has smaller heteronymous Ia-connections from its synergic ankle extensors than in cats. In baboons, plantaris is heteronymously Ia-excited from gastrocnemius-soleus but not from the intrinsic plantar muscles; whereas in cats there exists a considerable Ia-projection from the intrinsic plantar muscles but not from gastrocnemius-soleus. There is a corresponding difference in the insertion of the plantaris tendon, which shows that this muscle acts as toe extensor in cats but as ankle extensor in baboons. For most of the motor nuclei, the homonymous as well as the total aggregate of Ia-e.ps.p.s is smaller in the baboon than in the cat; but the amplitude range between different motor nuclei is larger in the baboon. Reciprocal Ia-i.ps.p.s are evoked only after spinal transection or when brain function is depressed. It is postulated that baboons, contrary to cats, have descending tonic inhibition of transmission in the reciprocal Ia-inhibitory pathway. The phylogenetic flexibility of Ia-connections is discussed and contrasted with their ontogenetic stability.