Intracellular recording was made in the C3-C4 segments from cell bodies of a previously described system of propriospinal neurones (PNs), which receive convergent monosynaptic excitation from different higher motor centres and mediate disynaptic excitation and inhibition from them to forelimb motoneurones. Inhibitory effects in these PNs have now been investigated with electrical stimulation of higher motor centres and forelimb nerves. Short-latency IPSPs were evoked by volleys in the cortico-, rubro- and tectospinal tracts and from the reticular formation. Latency measurements showed that those IPSPs which required temporal summation were disynaptically mediated. After transection of the corticospinal tract in C2, only small and infrequent disynaptic IPSPs were evoked from the pyramid. It is postulated that disynaptic pyramidal IPSPs only to a small extent are evoked by monosynaptic excitation of reticulospinal inhibitory neurones known to project directly to the PNs, and that they are mainly mediated by inhibitory interneurones in the C3-C4 segments. Tests with spatial facilitation revealed monosynaptic excitatory convergence from tecto-, rubro- and probably also from reticulospinal fibres on inhibitory interneurones monosynaptically excited from corticospinal fibres (interneuronal system I). Disynaptic IPSPs were also evoked in the great majority of the PNs by volleys in forelimb muscle and skin nerves. A short train of volleys was usually required to evoke these IPSPs from group I muscle afferents. In the case of cutaneous nerves and mixed nerves single volleys were often effective, and the lack of temporal facilitation of IPSPs produced by a train of volleys showed strong linkage from these nerves. The results obtained after transection of the dorsal column at different levels show that the relay is almost entirely rostral to the forelimb segments. Test with spatial facilitation revealed that interneurones monosynaptically activated from forelimb afferents receive convergent excitation from corticospinal but not or only weakly so from tecto- or rubrospinal fibres. There was also convergence from group I muscle afferents and low threshold cutaneous afferents on common interneurones. It is postulated that the disynaptic IPSPs from forelimb afferents are mediated by inhibitory interneurones (interneuronal system II) other than those receiving convergent descending excitation. Volleys in corticospinal fibres, in addition to the disynaptic IPSPs, evoke late IPSPs in the PNs. Similar late IPSPs were evoked from the ipsilateral forelimb by stimulation of the FRA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)