[Mechanisms of divergent-convergent connections in the spinal cord].

In acute experiments on anesthetized and on spinal cats, three major mechanisms of divergent-convergent interrelationships in the spinal cord responsible for the formation of electrical responses in the efferent and afferent links of the spinal reflex apparatus, were electrophysiologically established: 1) afferent-efferent, 2) afferent-interneuron-efferent, and 3) afferent--interneuron-afferent mechanisms each having special features of its structural and functional organization. The first two mechanisms are actualized through mono- and poly-synaptic discharges in the ventral roots, resp., and the third one--through electrotonic potentials and reflexes of the dorsal roots. Intracellular recording of potentials revealed that single interneurons participated in the actualization of the second and third mechanisms of the divergent-convergent interrelationships.