VARIABILITY IN THE OCCURRENCE OF ONGOING DISCHARGES IN PRIMARY AFFERENTS ORIGINATING IN THE NEUROMA AFTER PERIPHERAL-NERVE SECTION IN DIFFERENT STRAINS OF RATS

Activity in myelinated (A) afferents was recorded proximal to the neuroma 7-14 days after ligation and section of the sciatic nerve in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR), Wistar-Kyoto (WK) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Ongoing activity was recorded in 83% of nerve filaments in WK and in 89% in SHR rats. In contrast, only 16% of filaments recorded in SD rats had ongoing activity although the silent filaments could be activated by mechanical stimulation of the neuroma. Thus, the ability of the neuroma to generate ongoing activity in rats may be subject to strain-related genetic control.