ADRENERGIC RESPONSES OF RENSHAW CELLS

¹ Clinical Neuropharmacology Research Center, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health at Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D. C.

The effects of locally administered norepinephrine on Renshaw cells were studied by using five-barrel glass micropipette electrodes to record extracellular action potentials and administer compounds electrophoretically at the site of recording. It has been found that Renshaw cells respond to the local administration of norepinephrine. The firing of most Renshaw cells was depressed by norepinephrine, but a few were facilitated. The sensitivity of Renshaw cells to norepinephrine, in conjunction with other lines of evidence, suggests the possibility that Renshaw cells may be affected by an adrenergic bulbospinal pathway.