Effects of Temperature on the Ventral Caudal Nerve of the Rat

Abstract

An in vitro study of the effect of low temperatures on the ventral tail nerves of the rat showed that the nerves continued to conduct at temperatures where conduction ceased in the tibial nerve. Maintaining the tail at high or low temperatures for weeks did not alter significantly the temperature at which the tail nerves ceased to conduct. On cooling, the amplitude of the compound action potential increased transiently and then declined. Excitability and conduction velocity decreased linearly with temperature, while the strength-duration nerve shifted upward. Ninety-four of the nerve fibers are between 5-10 u in diam., although a c-component could be demonstrated electrophysiologi-cally.