Specificity of tactile connections in neonatal cuneate nucleus.

In the neonatal kitten, cuneate neurones activated by tactile stimulation of the forelimb foot pads are divisible into 3 functional classes each of which appears to receive its glabrous skin input selectively from a single class of tactile receptors. Their properties suggest that the functionally specific patterns of tactile convergence characteristic of the adult cuneate nucleus are established by the time of birth.