Abstract

Various stresses and strain rates cause variations in the compound nerve action potential conduction in the nerve trunk.

Author(s): Henery Junior

This study examined the changes in compound nerve action potentials (CNAPs) of nerve trunks stretched at different strains and strain rates. To explore CNAP alterations of nerve trunks subjected to acute stretch, a model of rapid stretch injury to nerve based on auto accidents was constructed. The sciatic nerve trunks were extracted from the dissected bodies of 18 bullfrogs. Tensile strain rates were 30s-1 and 50s-1, respectively, and the nerve trunk was extended by 6, 12, or 18% of its length. The findings demonstrated that the amplitude, action potential duration, and conduction velocity of CNAP all slightly changed at 6% strain and 30s-1 strain rate. The amplitude, conduction velocity, and area under the curve would drop as the strain and strain rate rose, but the action potential duration would grow. At 50s-1 strain rate and 18% strain, CNAP conduction was nearly entirely shut off. The conduction of nerve signals was significantly impacted by the various stresses or strain rates. A higher strain rate would increase the likelihood of nerve conduction block under the same tension. These results are extremely important for understanding the fast nerve stretch injury mechanism and assessing the degree of nerve functioning damage in auto accidents.