Nerve conduction: A review

Abstract

Neurons communicate with other cells by the release of chemical neurotransmitters. The human nervous system has some 100 billion neurons, each of which communicates with postsynaptic targets via chemical neurotransmission. The first neurotransmitters described were acetylcholine (ACh) and norepinephrine (NE). These were identified at synapses in the PNS. Many others transmitters have been identified since then, but, even counting all the peptides known to act as transmitters, the number is well less than 50. The specific neuronal signalling that allows the enormous complexity of function in the nervous system is largely a result of the specificity of neuronal connections made during development and the distribution of specific classes of neurotransmitter receptors. Nerve conduction study is done to assess whether a nerve which has suffered compression or injury is degenerating or not. The nerve is stimulated directly by a short duration stimulus along its course. When it is stimulated it conveys impulses to the muscles it supplies and the muscles contract (Downie, 1992) The principal use of nerve conduction studies is to identify damage to peripheral nerves, and to determine whether the pathological process is focal or diffuse and whether the damage is principally axonal or demyelinating. It is also possible to obtain some information about nerve roots by more sophisticated analysis of responses to impulses initially conducted antidromically to the spinal cord, and then orthodromically to the stimulation point (F wave). (Walker et al., 2013). In this paper, an attempt has been made to explain the neuron, neural transmission and nervce conduction study mechanism principle and measurement.