Axoplasmic flow of tritiated proline in the corticospinal tract of the rat

Abstract

The rates of axoplasmic transport were studied in the corticospinal tract of the rat by injecting tritiated proline into the sensory-motor cortex and subsequently analyzing the distribution of incorporated label in the spinal cord at intervals after injection. A mathematical model of the anatomy of the corticospinal tract was developed and used in analysis of the data. The rate of a fast component was calculated to be 240–420 mm per day, which is comparable with rates of fast components in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), but considerably greater than rates in other tracts in the central nervous system. A slow component was calculated to have a transport rate of 3–8 mm per day which is greater than rates found either in the CNS or PNS. This higher rate may be related to the greater length of the corticospinal tract as compared to other CNS tracts studied.