1. The goal of this study was to gather data that would increase our understanding of nociceptive processing by spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons that receive inputs from the hand and arm. Fifty neurons in the cervical enlargement of urethan-anesthetized rats were antidromically activated from the contralateral posterior thalamus. A stimulating electrode was moved systematically within an anterior-posterior plane in the thalamus until a point was located where the smallest amount of current antidromically activated the neuron. The antidromic thresholds at each of these lowest threshold points was < or = 30 microA; the mean antidromic threshold was 15.4 +/- 1.0 (SE) microA. Lowest threshold points were found primarily in the posterior thalamic group (Po), zona incerta, and in or near the supraoptic decussation. 2. The recording sites of 47 neurons were marked and recovered. Recording sites were located in the superficial dorsal horn (SDH, n = 15), deep dorsal horn (DDH, n = 31), and ventral horn (n = 1). Recording sites were located across the mediolateral extent of the SDH. Within the DDH, recording sites were concentrated laterally in nucleus proprius and dorsally in the lateral reticulated area. The locations of the recording points confirm previous anatomic descriptions of STT neurons in the cervical enlargement. 3. Cutaneous excitatory receptive fields were restricted to the ipsilateral forepaw or forelimb in 67% (10/15) of the neurons recorded in the SDH and 42% (13/31) of the neurons recorded in the DDH. Neurons having larger, more complex receptive fields were also commonly encountered. Thirty-three percent (5/15) of the neurons recorded in the SDH and 58% (18/31) recorded in the DDH had receptive fields that were often discontinuous and included areas of the ipsilateral shoulder, thorax, and head, including the face. 4. Innocuous and noxious mechanical stimuli were applied to the receptive field of each neuron. Fifty percent (25/50) responded to innocuous mechanical stimuli but responded at higher frequencies to noxious stimuli (wide dynamic range, WDR). Forty-four percent (22/50) responded only to noxious stimuli (high threshold, HT). Six percent (3/50) responded preferentially to innocuous stimuli (low threshold, LT). WDR and HT neurons were recorded in both the SDH and DDH, including nucleus proprius, an area not typically associated with nociceptive transmission at other levels of the cord. Sixty percent (9/15) of the units recorded in the SDH were classified as WDR neurons; the other 40% (6/15) were classified HT. Forty-eight percent (15/31) of the units recorded in the DDH were classified as WDR neurons and 42% (13/31) as HT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)