Sensory nerve conduction of the plantar nerve compared with other nerve conduction tests in rats.
OBJECTIVE
In rats the available techniques for evaluation of sensory nerve conduction are limited. We report a new method of sensory nerve conduction of the plantar nerve using needle electrodes as the recording electrodes behind the medial malleolus and ring electrodes as the stimulating electrodes around the three middle toes.


METHODS
We performed this sensory nerve conduction test in 25 rats during their growth over a 6 weeks' period and compared this method with the motor nerve conduction and H-reflex sensory nerve conduction of the tibial nerve in 10 rats, and with the motor and mixed nerve conductions of the tail nerve in 15 rats.


RESULTS
There was a highly or moderately significant correlation between the body weight and sensory nerve conduction velocity (NCV) of the plantar nerve, mixed NCV and motor NCV of the tail nerve, indicating a growth-related increase in the NCV. The growth-related increase in the NCV was not observed in the motor and H-reflex sensory nerve conductions of the tibial nerves.


CONCLUSIONS
This test is simple and reliable and can be used for the sensory nerve conduction test in rats.
Kurokawa
Katsumi
K
Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, UAB Station, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
de Almeida
Diogo F
DF
Zhang
Yun
Y
Hébert
Charles D
CD
Page
John G
JG
Schweikart
Karen M
KM
Oh
Shin J
SJ
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005528:Foot / Q000294:innervation*; D006181:H-Reflex / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009431:Neural Conduction; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013623:Tail / Q000294:innervation; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors