TY - JOUR
T1 - The conduction velocities and spinal projections of single renal afferent fibers in the rat
AU - Kneupfer, Mark M.
AU - Schramm, Lawrence P.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Scott Seidmanfo r his technicaal ssis-tancea ndB arbaraK anefor preparingth ehistologi-cal materialK. athyH artzeial ssistedin preparintgh e manuscriptT. his researchw as supportedb y NIH GrantsH L16315a ndH L34446.P resenteidn abstract form at the 15th Annual Societyf or Neuroscience Meeting.
PY - 1987/12/1
Y1 - 1987/12/1
N2 - This study was designed to examine the conduction velocities and spinal projections of renal afferent fibers in the rat using electrophysiological techniques. In chloralose-anesthetized rats, we electrically stimulated the peripheral ends of cut, lower thoracic and upper lumbar dorsal roots and recorded and averaged antidromically conducted action potentials in the renal nerves. Of 284 single axons responding to stimulation of ipsilateral dorsal roots T9-L1, the majority were activated by stimulating roots T11-T13. No antidromic responses could be elicited by stimulating the contralateral dorsal roots. Afferent fibers were divisible into two groups, distinguished by their conduction velocities: a population of slowly conducting axons, presumably composed of both unmyelinated (0.3-2 m/s, 76%) and thinly myelinated (2-9 m/s, 19%) fibers, and a population of more rapidly conducting, small myelinated axons (12-32 m/s, 5%). Slowly and more rapidly conducting fibers were not differentially distributed among dorsal roots. Postexperimental histological examination of nerves revealed small myelinated axons with diameters appropriate for some, but not for all, of the axons with conduction velocities in the myelinated range. These results indicate that single myelinated and unmyelinated primary afferent axons can be identified by antidromic stimulation in autonomic nerves of rat. They provide the first electrophysiological description of afferent renal nerve fibers in the rat, and they verify the predominantly unmyelinated nature of these fibers.
AB - This study was designed to examine the conduction velocities and spinal projections of renal afferent fibers in the rat using electrophysiological techniques. In chloralose-anesthetized rats, we electrically stimulated the peripheral ends of cut, lower thoracic and upper lumbar dorsal roots and recorded and averaged antidromically conducted action potentials in the renal nerves. Of 284 single axons responding to stimulation of ipsilateral dorsal roots T9-L1, the majority were activated by stimulating roots T11-T13. No antidromic responses could be elicited by stimulating the contralateral dorsal roots. Afferent fibers were divisible into two groups, distinguished by their conduction velocities: a population of slowly conducting axons, presumably composed of both unmyelinated (0.3-2 m/s, 76%) and thinly myelinated (2-9 m/s, 19%) fibers, and a population of more rapidly conducting, small myelinated axons (12-32 m/s, 5%). Slowly and more rapidly conducting fibers were not differentially distributed among dorsal roots. Postexperimental histological examination of nerves revealed small myelinated axons with diameters appropriate for some, but not for all, of the axons with conduction velocities in the myelinated range. These results indicate that single myelinated and unmyelinated primary afferent axons can be identified by antidromic stimulation in autonomic nerves of rat. They provide the first electrophysiological description of afferent renal nerve fibers in the rat, and they verify the predominantly unmyelinated nature of these fibers.
KW - Dorsal root
KW - Myelinated axon
KW - Renal afferent nerve
KW - Unmyelinated axon
KW - antidromic activation
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U2 - 10.1016/0006-8993(87)91598-8
DO - 10.1016/0006-8993(87)91598-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 3427451
AN - SCOPUS:0023481879
SN - 0006-8993
VL - 435
SP - 167
EP - 173
JO - Brain research
JF - Brain research
IS - 1-2
ER -