Abstract
The central terminals of cutaneous primary afferent neurons are spatially ordered in the dorsal horn in a highly organized fashion1–3 such that a point-to-point map represents the body surface. This afferent terminal somatotopic map correlates with the map of the receptive fields of the cells on which they terminate3–4. The location, size and modality of the cutaneous receptive fields of dorsal horn neurons necessarily depend upon the anatomical presence of afferent nerve fibres which deliver information from the periphery, directly or indirectly, to the cells. However the receptive field size and modality of a cell do not depend only on anatomical connections. Excitatory and inhibitory interneurons, descending influences and facilitations or depressions of synaptic contacts can alter receptive field properties. Here we show that prolonged and substantial cutaneous receptive field changes can be produced by brief inputs from peripheral unmyelinated afferent fibres.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brown, A. G. Organization in the Spinal Cord (Springer, New York, 1981).
Swett, J. E. & Woolf, C. J. J. comp. Neurol. 231, 66–77 (1985).
Woolf, C. J. & Fitzgerald, M. J. comp. Neurol. 251, 517–531 (1986).
Brown, A. G. & Noble, R. J. Physiol., Lond. 323, 77–92 (1982).
Woolf, C. J. Nature 306, 686–688 (1983).
Woolf, C. J. & McMahon, S. B. Neuroscience 16, 395–404 (1985).
Wall, P. D. & Woolf, C. J. J. Physiol., Lond. 356, 442–458 (1984).
Woolf, C. J. & Wall, P. D. J. Neurosci. 6, 1433–1444 (1986).
Cook, A. J., Woolf, C. J. & Wall, P. D. Neurosci. Lett. 70, 91–96 (1986).
Wall, P. D., Merrill, E. G. & Yaksh, T. L. Brain Res. 160, 245–260.
Brown, A. G. & Fyffe, R. E. W. J. Physiol., Lond. 321, 31–47 (1981).
Wall, P. D. J. Physiol., Lond. 188, 403–424 (1967).
Dubuisson, D. & Wall, P. D. Brain Res. 199, 283–298 (1980).
McMahon, S. B. & Wall, P. D. Pain 19, 235–247 (1984).
McMahon, S. B. & Wall, P. D. J. comp. Neurol. 214, 217–223 (1983).
Bennett, G. J. et al., J. comp. Neurol. 194, 809–827 (1980).
Woolf, C. J. & Fitzgerald, M. J. comp. Neurol. 221, 313–328 (1983).
Urban, L. & Randic, M. Brain Res. 290, 336–341 (1984).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cook, A., Woolf, C., Wall, P. et al. Dynamic receptive field plasticity in rat spinal cord dorsal horn following C-primary afferent input. Nature 325, 151–153 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/325151a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/325151a0
This article is cited by
-
Remembering Stephen McMahon, a great electrophysiologist, innovator and mentor
Nature Neuroscience (2022)
-
Enhanced sensory conduction in primary fibromyalgia: a case–control pilot study
The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery (2021)
-
Plasticity changes in forebrain activity and functional connectivity during neuropathic pain development in rats with sciatic spared nerve injury
Molecular Brain (2018)
-
Probabilistic model for individual assessment of central hyperexcitability using the nociceptive withdrawal reflex: a biomarker for chronic low back and neck pain
BMC Neuroscience (2013)
-
Predicting the spatiotemporal expression of local and referred acute muscle pain in individual subjects
Experimental Brain Research (2012)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
