Tests for Left-Right Chemospecificity in Frog Cutaneous Nerves

Abstract

Studies of the effects of competitive reinnervation by left and right cutaneous nerves were carried out in Rana pipiens in an effort to test for the existence of left-right biochemical differentiation of neural tissue. The dorsal cutaneous nerves were cut, transposed and allowed to regenerate under different conditions of denervation and competition and the resultant reinnervation and reflex patterns were determined by behavioral and electrophysiological mapping techniques. Contrary to earlier findings, there was no indication in the present investigation that the growth patterns were influenced by the laterality of the fibers. Other factors such as availability of terminal sites created by complete or partial denervation and the tendency of fibers to seek terminal connections seemed to override any qualifications imposed by the existence of lateral specificity on the formation of terminal contacts.