Effect of age on electrical nerve conduction in the somatosensory pathway and its correlation with somatometry and plasma concentrations of musculoskeletal enzymes in male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) held in captivity

• Published in: Journal of medical primatology 2018-06, Vol.47 (3), p.145-156
• Main Authors: Hernández‐Godínez, Braulio, Poblano, Adrián, Bonilla‐Jaime, Herlinda, Artega‐Silva, Marcela, Sánchez‐Torres, Stephanie, Mondragón‐Lozano, Rodrigo, Ibáñez‐Contreras, Alejandra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Captivity; Creatininase; Enzymes; evoked potentials; Forearm; lactic dehydrogenase; Musculoskeletal system; Nerve conduction; Ontogeny; rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta); somatometry; Somatosensory evoked potentials; somatosensory pathway; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 0047-2565; 1600-0684
• DOI: 10.1111/jmp.12337

Background Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) make it possible to obtain functional data on the activity of somatosensory pathway. Objective To evaluate the ontogeny of electrical nerve conduction in male rhesus monkeys using SEPs in correlation with the development of the musculoskeletal system based on somatometry and musculoskeletal enzymes. Methods Somatosensory evoked potentials of the medial and tibial nerves were performed, and somatometric measurements were obtained: total length, arm and forearm length, and thigh and calf length. Analysis of the musculoskeletal enzymes, lactic dehydrogenase, and creatininase was conducted using blood samples in 20 rhesus monkeys divided into 5 groups. Results Statistical analysis manifested a delay in the appearance of latencies as age increased. Also evident was a strong, direct relation between the lengths and the value of the latencies of the SEP, together with an inverse relation between the musculoskeletal enzymes. Conclusions These findings contribute to standardizing this animal model in the neurophysiological sciences.