Effects of high pressure on nervous conduction velocity in man.

The velocities of motor and sensory nervous conduction and of neuro-muscular transmission were measured in four subjects during a simulated dive at 4.6 MPa (46 bars). The results show an increase in motor distal latency in the ulnar nerve, especially during decompression, with reversibility of the effect on return to ambient conditions. The hypothesis of an interaction of dissolved gases with the membranes of ischaemic cells is proposed.