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MORPHOMETRIC AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR A DIAMETER-BASED RATE OF DEGENERATION IN THE OPTIC NERVE OF THE RAT (JOURNAL VERSION)
Citation:
Veronesi, B. AND W. Boyes. MORPHOMETRIC AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR A DIAMETER-BASED RATE OF DEGENERATION IN THE OPTIC NERVE OF THE RAT (JOURNAL VERSION). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-88/152 (NTIS PB89110480).
Description:
The diameter-based rate of degeneration in the rat's optic nerve was examined using coordinated morphological and electrophysiological techniques. Long-Evans male rats were implanted with indwelling stimulating electrodes in the optic chiasm and recording electrodes in the stratum opticum of the superior colliculus. After one week, enucleation was performed on one optic nerve with the unoperated side serving as the control. In another set of identically treated rats, morphological analysis of the optic nerve over D-0-7 was performed. A linear regression analysis revealed an exponential rate of degeneration as a direct function of axonal diameter, that is the number of fibers.