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Time course of post-excitatory effects separates afferent human C fibre classes

C. Weidner, R. Schmidt *, M. Schmelz, M. Hilliges †, H. O. Handwerker and H. E. Torebjörk *

1. To study post-excitatory changes of conduction velocity, action potentials were recorded from 132 unmyelinated nerve fibres (C fibres) in cutaneous fascicles of the peroneal nerve using microneurography in healthy human subjects. The 'marking' technique was used to assess responsiveness to mechanical and heat stimuli or sympathetic reflex provocation.

2. C fibres were classified into three major classes: mechano-responsive afferent (n = 76), mechano-insensitive afferent (n = 48) and sympathetic efferent C fibres (n = 8).

3. During regular stimulation at 0·25 Hz, conditioning pulses were intermittently interposed. Changes of conduction velocity were assessed for different numbers of conditioning impulses and varying interstimulus intervals (ISIs). For all three fibre classes the latency shift following conditioning pulses at an ISI of 1000 ms increased linearly with their number (n = 1, 2 and 4). However, the absolute degree of conduction velocity slowing was much higher in the 32 mechano-insensitive fibres as compared with 56 mechano-responsive or 8 sympathetic fibres.

4. Single additional pulses were interposed at different ISIs from 20 to 2000 ms. For 20 mechano-responsive fibres conduction velocity slowing increased with decreasing ISI (subnormal phase). In contrast, for 16 mechano-insensitive C fibres the conduction velocity slowing decreased with shorter ISIs, and at values lower than 417 ± 49 ms (mean ± s.e.m.) the conduction velocity of the conditioned action potential was faster than before (conduction velocity speeding). This supernormal phase had its maximum at 69 ± 10 ms.

5. In this study we provide, for the first time, direct evidence of relative supernormal conduction in human mechano-insensitive C fibres. The implications for temporal coding in different afferent C fibre classes are discussed.

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