Characteristics of sympathetic nerve activity in the rat sciatic nerve in response to microstimulation in a sympathetic fascicle in the contralateral side

Microneurography is used for the monitor of various peripheral nerve activities. We recently reported that the electrical stimulation of peripheral sympathetic nerve fascicle via the microelectrode, i.e., microstimulation, temporarily reduced the blood glucose level in rats in case that the stimulation intensity was set high enough to induce small muscle contraction. However, the nature of microstimulation has little been clarified yet. Therefore, in the present study, we first detected sympathetic nerve signal microneurographically in the bilateral sciatic nerves of rats, and one of the microelectrodes was used for the microstimulation (0.25 ms-width pulse train at a rate of 1 Hz) while sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) was recorded in the contralateral side as a parameter of systemic sympathetic effects. The SNA, expressed as action potential rate, was transiently increased 150 ms after each stimulation pulse in case that the stimulation intensity was set not less than -0.1 V from the contraction threshold (around 0.32 V). To confirm that the increase was not caused by the activation of low threshold, thick fibers such as motor nerves in the vicinity of the microelectrode tip, next, a bipolar hook electrode, instead of the microelectrode, was then used in the stimulation side. As a result, the above-mentioned, transient increase in SNA was not observed any more in the contralateral side. These results suggest that systemic SNA could be enhanced with lower stimulation intensity than that inducing muscle contraction, and that thicker fibers may little affect the increase in the contralateral SNA.