Effects of dorsal root section on spinocervical tract neurones in the cat

1. In nine cats, dorsal roots L6and L7were sectioned under pentobarbitone anaesthesia using strict aseptic precautions. In two cats all lumbosacral roots except L6were sectioned under similar conditions. 27‐75 days after the dorsal rhizotomies, under chloralose anaesthesia, neurones of the spinocervical tract (s.c.t.) were recorded electrophysiologically both extracellularly and intracellularly, their response properties and receptive fields were analysed, and they were injected with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Twenty‐five cells were recorded extracellularly and twenty were recorded intracellularly and stained with the enzyme.