AFFERENT-PROJECTIONS IN THE SPINAL ACCESSORY NERVE TO THE FACIAL MOTONEURONS OF THE CAT

Stimulation of the accessory nerve evoked polysynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in the facial nucleus (FN) neurons of anesthetized cats. From the experiments with severance of C1-C3 dorsal roots, it is suggested that accessory afferents enter the brainstem through the accessory nerve. It was also found that stimulation of the solitary tract nucleus produced exclusively monosynaptic EPSPs in the FN neutrons and the afferent volleys are most likely to be relayed at the solitary tract nucleus.