Quantitative aspects of responses in trigeminal relay neurones and interneurones following mechanical stimulation of sinus hairs and skin in the cat

1. Stimulus‐response relationships in discharges of trigeminal relay‐ and interneurones were investigated in the barbiturate anaesthetized cat using controlled sinus hair or skin displacements. 2. In comparison with discharges in slowly adapting primary afferent fibres the responses in all higher order neurones were considerably reduced in firing rate and often revealed modifications suggesting the interaction of mechanisms actively modulating the afferent input. 3. In relay neurones with or without a tonic discharge component the ‘dynamic on’ response during a trapezoidal displacement of sinus hairs was found to be determined entirely or predominantly by the movement velocity and to be independent of the deflexion angle of a stimulus. In contrast, the static response in tonic relay neurones was determined by both the movement velocity and the displacement amplitude. 4. Spatial summation of afferent input caused either only quantitative changes in the responses of relay neurones leaving the general discharge properties unaltered or caused both qualitative and quantitative changes in the responses. 5. Interneurones consisted of two functional groups. In about 25% of them the responses were not or only slightly dependent on the intensity of the applied stimulus, often burstlike and of an all or nothing character. In the second group of interneurones the responses showed a quantitative dependence on the applied stimuli. In this group of interneurones responses often increased with the spatial extension of the peripheral stimulus revealing spatial summation of the afferent input.