Transitional properties of afferents reinnervating mechanoreceptors in the human glabrous skin

The technique of percutaneous microneurography was used to record in man from single mechanoreceptive afferents during the early stages of reinnervation. Although response properties were in several ways comparable to normal and to those of afferents studied long after nerve repair, two abnormalities were found: multiple receptive field innervation by single afferents (RA, SAI), and response fatigue with repeated stimulation (SAI). These abnormalities are considered transitional, disappearing when reinnervation is complete.