Electrophysiological and morphological properties of rat abducens motoneurones.

The electrical and morphological properties of abducens motoneurones were investigated in the rat with intracellular recordings and intracellular HRP-staining. Motoneurones were identified by their antidromic response to electrical stimulation of the lateral rectus muscle. The antidromic action potential was followed by a delayed depolarization and an after hyperpolarization lasting 20 ms to 45 ms. The whole neurone input resistance (RN) calculated from I/V curves, was found to lie between 2 M omega and 15 M omega with a bimodal distribution (mean values 4.9 M omega and 12 M omega). In some cases, anomalous rectification was observed with low current intensities. Prolonged hyperpolarizing current pulses revealed the presence of a time dependent inward rectification and slow rebound depolarization. The intensity/frequency curves suggest the existence of three ranges of discharge. The average intensity frequency slope during the steady state was 43 imp/s/nA. Eight abducens motoneurones were intracellularly labelled with HRP and full reconstructed. The soma (23 microns to 40 microns in diameter) gave off 5 to 7 primary dendrites. The general organization and extension of the dendritic trees depended on the location of the soma within the abducens nucleus. The mean diameter of primary dendrites was 4.17 microns with similar average values in all motoneurones. The soma size of abducens motoneurones was not correlated with either the size of the proximal tree or the whole neurone input resistance.