Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Physiology logoLink to The Journal of Physiology
. 1980 May;302:121–130. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1980.sp013233

On the predominantly single innervation of submandibular ganglion cells in the rat.

J W Lichtman
PMCID: PMC1282838  PMID: 7411451

Abstract

1. Simultaneous intracellular recordings were made from pairs of submandibular ganglion cells to examine why each of these neurons is generally innervated by a single preganglionic axon. 2. Impalements made within isolated clusters of two to fifty cells showed that a preganglionic axon typically innervates several neurons within a group. 3. The neurones innervated by a particular axon tended to be intermingled with other neurons; some neurons were innervated by an axon that was not shared by any of their immediate neighbours. 4. These results indicate a mechanism that causes a preganglionic axon to innervate exclusively many of the neurones it contacts, presumably by successful competition with nearby axons that initially innervate the same cells and continue to provide innervation to neighbouring neurones. 5. Re-innervation of adult ganglion cells shows that this mechanism persists or can be reactivated in maturity.

Full text

PDF
121

Images in this article

124-2Plate 1
on p.124-2
130-1Plate 2
on p.130-1

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bennett M. R., Pettigrew A. G. The formation of synapses in amphibian striated muscle during development. J Physiol. 1975 Oct;252(1):203–239. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp011141. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bennett M. R., Pettigrew A. G. The formation of synapses in striated muscle during development. J Physiol. 1974 Sep;241(2):515–545. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1974.sp010670. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brown M. C., Jansen J. K., Van Essen D. Polyneuronal innervation of skeletal muscle in new-born rats and its elimination during maturation. J Physiol. 1976 Oct;261(2):387–422. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011565. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burke R. E., Levine D. N., Salcman M., Tsairis P. Motor units in cat soleus muscle: physiological, histochemical and morphological characteristics. J Physiol. 1974 May;238(3):503–514. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1974.sp010540. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Burke R. E., Tsairis P. Anatomy and innervation ratios in motor units of cat gastrocnemius. J Physiol. 1973 Nov;234(3):749–765. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1973.sp010370. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Edström L., Kugelberg E. Histochemical composition, distribution of fibres and fatiguability of single motor units. Anterior tibial muscle of the rat. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1968 Oct;31(5):424–433. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.31.5.424. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jansen J. K., Van Essen D. C. Re-innervation of rat skeleton muscle in the presence of alpha-bungarotoxin. J Physiol. 1975 Sep;250(3):651–667. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp011075. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ko C. P., Roper S. Disorganised and 'excessive' reinnervation of frog cardiac ganglia. Nature. 1978 Jul 20;274(5668):286–288. doi: 10.1038/274286a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lichtman J. W. The reorganization of synaptic connexions in the rat submandibular ganglion during post-natal development. J Physiol. 1977 Dec;273(1):155–177. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1977.sp012087. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McArdle J. J. Complex end-plate potentials at the regenerating neuromuscular junction of the rat. Exp Neurol. 1975 Dec;49(3):629–638. doi: 10.1016/0014-4886(75)90048-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Purves D. Functional and structural changes in mammalian sympathetic neurones following interruption of their axons. J Physiol. 1975 Nov;252(2):429–463. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp011151. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Purves D., Lichtman J. W. Formation and maintenance of synaptic connections in autonomic ganglia. Physiol Rev. 1978 Oct;58(4):821–862. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1978.58.4.821. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Redfern P. A. Neuromuscular transmission in new-born rats. J Physiol. 1970 Aug;209(3):701–709. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1970.sp009187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Physiological Society

RESOURCES