title: Mauthner axon diameter and impulse conduction velocity decrease with growth of goldfish.
abstract: Conduction velocities of antidromically evoked impulses along the goldfish Mauthner axon were found to be inversely correlated with body length. To test the hypothesis that such a relation is accompanied by a reduction in axonal diameter with increasing fish size, Mauthner axon diameters were measured. A parabolic relationship with respect to body length was obtained, axonal diameter being maximal in 9.5 cm fish. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a decrease in conduction velocity and axonal size during growth of an organism were functioning of the cell is maintained.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006054:Goldfish; D009431:Neural Conduction; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*