Propagation of electric activity in motor nerve terminals

Abstract External micro-electrodes were used to stimulate non-myelinated motor nerve terminals and to record pre- and post-synaptic responses at the neuromuscular junction of the frog. The synaptic terminals of the motor axon are electrically excitable. Antidromic nerve impulses can be set up by local stimulation of terminals along the greater part of their length. Presynaptic spikes can be recorded from the non-myelinated terminal parts of motor axons. As the impulse proceeds towards the tip of the terminal branch, the shape of the spike changes from a predominantly negative to a predominantly positive-going wave. Similar changes occur in muscle fibres near their tendon junctions, and can be attributed to the special local-circuit conditions at the ‘closed end’ of a fibre. The velocity of impulse propagation in motor nerve endings was determined by three different methods: (a) from the latency of antidromic nerve spikes elicited at different points along terminals, (b) from two-point recording of spikes along a terminal, (c) from the differential latency of focal end-plate potentials recorded at two spots of a myoneural junction. The average velocity obtained by these methods was approximately 0.3 m/s at 20 °C. Extracellular muscle fibre spikes recorded at junctional spots showed no significant differences from those recorded elsewhere, provided the spikes were initiated by direct stimulation and did not coincide with transmitter action. Direct current polarization produces a graded increase in frequency of miniature end-plate potentials when the endings are being depolarized, and sudden high-frequency bursts during excessive hyperpolarization. External two-point recording shows that these bursts arise independently at different spots of the synaptic terminals.