Premium
Postnatal development of conduction velocity and fibre size in the rat tibial nerve
Author(s) -
Vejsada Richard,
Paleček Jiří,
Hník Pavel,
Soukup Tomáš
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/0736-5748(85)90048-6
Subject(s) - nerve conduction velocity , anatomy , ontogeny , tibial nerve , thermal conduction , peripheral nerve , sensory nerve , biology , chemistry , materials science , zoology , sensory system , endocrinology , stimulation , composite material , neuroscience
The maximum conduction velocity ( CV ) and fibre diameters ( D ) were determined in the tibial nerve of developing rats. In 1‐day‐old rats CV of the fastest motor and sensory fibres (assessed separately) was 1.4 m/sec on the average and increased to 35 m/sec by postnatal day 30. The maximum conduction rate in adult rats ranged from 60 to 84 m/sec. Diameters of at least 100 nerve fibres in each age group were measured in electronmicrographs. The calibre of myelinating fibres in 1‐day‐old rats was 0.5–1.5 μm. By day 90 after birth the range of myelinated fibre size extended to 1.5–12.5 μm. The factor relating conduction rate and total fibre diameter of the largest fibres (i.e. the value of CV / D ) was found to vary with age, increasing from 1.1 to 6.2 between postnatal days 1 and 90. These results indicate that functional and morphological properties of peripheral nerve fibres in the rat undergo considerable changes during postnatal ontogeny until they reach adult values.