Selective decline in the prevalence of slowly adapting type I mechanoreceptors during development

Merkel nerve endings are identified physiologically as slowly adapting type I mechanoreceptor units. They are important for fine acuity tactile perception. We examined the effect of age on the electrophysiological availability of different types of slowly adapting mechanoreceptor units. Using 6-50 week old rats, we observed an obvious decline with age in the probability of recording from St I units of the deep vibrissal nerve. The precipitous decline occurred between ages 6-14 weeks and then stabilized. By contrast, the prevalence of St II units, the other type of slowly adapting mechanoreceptor, remained constant over the age range studied. These observations correlate with anatomical findings reported elsewhere.