Early facilitation at corticomotoneuronal synapses

1. Corticomotoneuronal EPSPs have been generated in lumbar motoneurones of the monkey by single and paired corticospinal volleys. The facilitation of the second of a pair of EPSPs with respect to the size of the first has been measured.2. The relationship between the degree of facilitation of the second response and the interval between the two volleys has been studied. Average facilitation of minimal EPSPs was found to be maximal about 2 msec after the arrival of the corticospinal volley and to decay roughly exponentially thereafter with a time constant of about 10 msec.3. The degree of facilitation varied from one minimal corticomotoneuronal EPSP to another but this facilitation was not statistically correlated with the time course of the individual EPSPs.4. Significant facilitation (0.4) was still present 10 msec after a corticospinal volley so that this phenomenon could play a part in the initiation of motoneuronal discharge by corticospinal activity at natural frequencies of the order of 100 impulses/sec.