Selective cortical control of information flow through different intraspinal collaterals of the same muscle afferent fiber.

We have analyzed in the anesthetized cat the effects of electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex on the intraspinal threshold of two collaterals belonging to the same muscle spindle or tendon organ afferent fiber. The results obtained provide, for the first time, direct evidence showing that the motor cortex is able to modify, in a highly selective manner, the synaptic effectiveness of individual collaterals of the same primary afferent fiber. This presynaptic control could function as a mechanism that allows funneling of information to specific groups of spinal neurons in the presence of extensive intraspinal branching of the afferent fibers.