Modulation of segmental mechanisms by activation of a dorsal column brainstem spinal loop.

In decerebrate-decerebellate cats, dorsal column stimulation (DCst) rostral to selective dorsal funicular cuts, to prevent antidromic activation of afferent DC fibers, produced primary afferent depolarization and modulated reflexes at the lower spinal level. These findings indicate the importance of a DC-brainstem-spinal loop in explaining the effects of DC stimulation in man and experimental animals.