Modulation of action potential trains in rabbit saphenous nerve unmyelinated fibers

Usually, the main axon is assumed to faithfully conduct action potentials (APs). Recent data have indicated that neural processing can occur along the axonal path. However, the patterns and mechanisms of temporal coding are not clear. In the present study, single fiber recording was used to analyze activity-dependent modulation of AP trains in the main axons of C fibers in the rabbit saphenous nerve. Trains of 5 superthreshold electrical pulses at interstimulus intervals of 20 or 50 ms were applied to the nerve trunk for 200 s. The interspike intervals (ISIs) for these trains were compared to the input interstimulus intervals. Three basic types of C fibers were observed in response to repeated stimuli: first, the ISI between the first and second AP (ISI1-2) of type 1 was longer than the interstimulus interval; second, the ISI1-2 of type 2 showed wavelike fluctuations around the interstimulus interval, and third, the ISI1-2 of type 3 exhibited shorter intervals for a long period. Furthermore, both 4-aminopyridine-sensitive potassium and hyperpolarization-activated cation currents were involved in the modulation of ISI1-2 of train pulses. These data provide new evidence that multiple modes of neural conduction can occur along the main axons of C fibers.