[Microneurography--from basic aspects to clinical applications and application in space medicine].

Microneurography is an electrophysiological method that directly records impulse traffic from human peripheral nerves by using metal microelectrodes. This method enables the recording of identified postganglionic sympathetic efferent neural traffic leading to the skeletal muscles (muscle sympathetic nerve activity) and skin (skin sympathetic nerve activity), as well as myelinated and unmyelinated afferent nerve impulses from the sensory receptors in skeletal muscles (muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and nociceptors) and skin (skin mechanoreceptors and noci-thermoceptors). The clinical applications of sympathetic microneurography are useful for the elucidation of the neural mechanisms of abnormal blood pressure control and thermoregulation. Sympathetic microneurography is also used in space medicine to elucidate changes in sympathetic neural traffic during and after exposure to simulated microgravity and spaceflight. The clinical applications of sensory microneurography are useful to clarify the neural mechanisms underlying abnormalities in muscle and skin sensation and those in sensory motor control. Microstimulation by using the microneurography technique can also be used to determine the peripheral sensory, sympathetic, and motor nerve functions.