Electrical Investigation of the Monosynaptic Pathway Through the Spinal Cord

The Excitability Change of Motoneurones Due to Electrotonus and Its Relations to the Effects of Repetitive Stimulation

“…The records then show only a flattened slow component with a smooth contour, superimposed by relatively few diphasic spikes. These may be identified with Fuortes (9) as the "spike-like" waves which have been found to be non-propagating, and also correlatable with the brief waves noticed by Brooks and Eccles (6) in many records of the focal synaptic potential.…”

Intracellular recording from antidromically activated motoneurones

“…Interaction between NM spikes and post-synaptic potentials Renshaw (1942) first observed that the negative or 'soma' spike set up by an antidromic volley and recorded by an extracellular micro-electrode is greatly increased by an orthodromic volley. It has been shown (Brooks & Eccles, 1947) that, as the testing interval is lengthened, the facilitation of this soma spike decreases with a time constant of decay that is much the same as with the synaptic facilitation curve (Lloyd, 1946). There is now very convincing evidence that both facilitations are attributable to the partial depolarization (post-synaptic potential) that the orthodromic volley induces in the motoneurones (Brock et al 1952 a, b;Eccles, 1953).…”

Beginning at the end: Repetitive firing properties in the final common pathway

“…He had begun to use insulated metal electrodes to record extracellular action and synaptic potentials in motor pools in 1946 (Brooks and Eccles, 1947 Brock (1923Brock ( -1996 was then assigned the task of developing the microelectrodes. The electronic equipment available to Eccles at that time, however, was not suitable for the task at hand, which required the use of high impedance recording microelectrodes.…”