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Slow touch and ultrafast pain fibres: Revisiting peripheral nerve classification.

Olausson, H., Marshall, A., Nagi, S. S. and Cole, J., 2024. Slow touch and ultrafast pain fibres: Revisiting peripheral nerve classification. Clinical Neurophysiology, 163, 255-262.

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DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2024.04.008

Abstract

One hundred years ago, Erlanger and Gasser demonstrated that conduction velocity is correlated with the diameter of a peripheral nerve axon. Later, they also demonstrated that the functional role of the axon is related to its diameter: touch is signalled by large-diameter axons, whereas pain and temperature are signalled by small-diameter axons. Certain discoveries in recent decades prompt a modification of this canonical classification. Here, we review the evidence for unmyelinated (C) fibres signalling touch at a slow conduction velocity and likely contributing to affective aspects of tactile information. We also review the evidence for large-diameter Aβ afferents signalling pain at ultrafast conduction velocity and likely contributing to the rapid nociceptive withdrawal reflex. These discoveries imply that conduction velocity is not as clear-cut an indication of the functional role of the axon as previously thought. We finally suggest that a future taxonomy of the peripheral afferent nervous system might be based on the combination of the axońs molecular expression and electrophysiological response properties.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1388-2457
Uncontrolled Keywords:Conduction velocity; Pain; Peripheral afferents; Touch
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:39791
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:07 May 2024 09:57
Last Modified:11 Jul 2024 12:34

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