Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (553 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Slender processes of neurons, including the axons and their glial envelopes (myelin sheath). Nerve fibers conduct nerve impulses to and from the central nervous system.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Nerve Fiber; Cerebellar Mossy Fibers; Cerebellar Mossy Fiber; Mossy Fiber, Cerebellar; Mossy Fibers, Cerebellar.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Neurons
- Narrower topics
- Adrenergic Fibers; Autonomic Fibers, Postganglionic; Axons; Cholinergic Fibers; Nerve Fibers, Myelinated; Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated
Related concepts
- Neurons
- Axons
- Myelin Sheath
- Central Nervous System
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 136,808 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Nerve Fibers” (counts retrieved 2026-10-29). 13,286 of them (9.7%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 60,414 records.
Reviews account for 11,252 records (8.2%) and meta-analyses for 135. Randomized controlled trials number 380 (0.3%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 60,414 |
| 2000-2009 | 31,790 |
| 2010-2019 | 31,318 |
| 2020 onward | 13,286 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 11,252 | 8.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 135 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 380 | 0.3% |
Method: PubMed query "Nerve Fibers"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-29.
Reading the evidence in neuroscience
Neuroscience draws on tools with different strengths: cellular and animal work can manipulate circuits directly, while human imaging and electrophysiology observe the living brain at lower resolution. Small imaging studies are prone to false positives, and findings in animals do not always carry over to people. Clinical neurology and psychiatry rely on trials and cohort studies whose outcomes are often symptom scales. Check the species, the sample size, how the outcome was measured and whether results were replicated.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 9 | cc by PMID 41678629 · DOI · PMC7618902 |
| Microtubules in the axon are GDP bound but adopt a stable GTP-like expanded state | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 8 | cc by PMID 41951886 · DOI · PMC13095656 |
| Dose-Dependent Biphasic Effect of Palmitic Acid on Oligodendrocyte Function: Impacts on Viability, Differentiation, and Myelination | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 6 | cc by PMID 41661646 · DOI · PMC12885150 |
Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Myelin damage is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, but how it occurs remains to be fully understood.
- Closing excerpt
- Our data indicate that myelin swelling is a conserved feature of demyelination and that damage to myelin sheaths can resolve, opening opportunities for targeting human disease.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (125 words)
Myelin damage is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, but how it occurs remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that early damage in zebrafish and rodent demyelination models is characterized by myelin swelling. We show, through live imaging, that myelin swelling does not always lead to myelin loss and that swellings can sometimes resolve, allowing sheaths to remodel. Increased neuronal activity during early demyelination exacerbates myelin damage, whereas reducing neuronal activity mitigates myelin swelling in both zebrafish and mice. In human multiple sclerosis tissue, myelin swelling is also dynamic and is prominent around active lesions. Our data indicate that myelin swelling is a conserved feature of demyelination and that damage to myelin sheaths can resolve, opening opportunities for targeting human disease.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41678629 · DOI · PMC7618902
Microtubules in the axon are GDP bound but adopt a stable GTP-like expanded state [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Microtubules scaffold cells, supporting signaling and cargo transport.
- Closing excerpt
- Our work provides molecular insights into neurogenesis and has implications for understanding microtubule stability and effector recruitment in neurons.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (146 words)
Microtubules scaffold cells, supporting signaling and cargo transport. They assemble from GTP-tubulin, which hydrolyzes to GDP-tubulin during polymerization. GTP-microtubule lattices are stable; GDP lattices depolymerize rapidly. In vitro, hydrolysis triggers lattice compaction. Lattice spacing regulates motors and microtubule-associated proteins; however, the conformation of tubulin in microtubules in cells is unknown. Here, we present the atomic-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of human microtubules in situ, in the axons of human cortical neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). Our 2.7-Å-resolution reconstruction delineates bound water molecules and reveals that axonal microtubules adopt an expanded GTP-like lattice, despite being GDP bound. Using cryo-electron tomography and power spectrum analysis, we find that, unlike in axons, microtubules in undifferentiated iPS cells are compacted. Therefore, lattice expansion is part of neuronal differentiation. Our work provides molecular insights into neurogenesis and has implications for understanding microtubule stability and effector recruitment in neurons.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41951886 · DOI · PMC13095656
Dose-Dependent Biphasic Effect of Palmitic Acid on Oligodendrocyte Function: Impacts on Viability, Differentiation, and Myelination [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Palmitic acid (PA), the most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA) in humans, plays a key role in energy metabolism, membrane synthesis, and signaling.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings highlight the physiological relevance of low-dose PA in modulating OLs.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (282 words)
Palmitic acid (PA), the most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA) in humans, plays a key role in energy metabolism, membrane synthesis, and signaling. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which generate mature oligodendrocytes (OLs) forming the myelin sheath, are responsive to metabolic and redox signals. Despite increasing interest in lipid metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics as regulators of OPC fate, the effects of PA remain unclear. This study investigates the biphasic, dose-dependent effects of PA on OPCs using the oligodendrocyte precursor MO3.13 cell line and employs rat organotypic slice cultures to evaluate the effects of non-toxic PA doses under pathological conditions and on axonal (re)-myelination. In MO3.13 cells, high-dose PA (100 µM) induces mitochondrial fragmentation and caspase-7 activation, accompanied by reduced mitofusin-2 (MFN2) and phosphorylated dynamin-related protein 1 at Ser616 (p-DRP1), indicating altered fusion-fission balance and impaired reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In contrast, low-dose PA (25 µM) triggers a protective response involving nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activation and upregulation of antioxidant and lipid-regulatory genes (glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit [GCLM], NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 [NQO1], peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma [PPARγ], and cluster of differentiation 36 [CD36]) resulting in reduced intracellular ROS and enhanced lipid mobilization. PA 25 µM promotes OPC differentiation by inhibiting migration and cell cycle progression and increasing myelin basic protein (MBP) and proteolipid protein (PLP) expression. Notably, early exposure (1 day) favors mitochondrial fusion, whereas prolonged exposure (4 days) shows a physiological shift to fission. PA 25 µM prevents neurodegeneration in hippocampal organotypic slice cultures exposed to a neuroinflammatory insult. In cerebellar organotypic slice cultures, PA 25 µM enhances axonal myelination and accelerates remyelination following lysolecithin-induced demyelination. These findings highlight the physiological relevance of low-dose PA in modulating OLs.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41661646 · DOI · PMC12885150
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Spinal cord injury: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic interventions [4]
- Research article Regulation of axonal regeneration after mammalian spinal cord injury [5]
- Research article Central nervous system regeneration [6]
- Research article The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease [7]
- Research article Periods of synchronized myelin changes shape brain function and plasticity [8]
- Research article Recent progress and challenges in the treatment of spinal cord injury [9]
References
- Arafa D, van de Korput J, Braaker PN, Higgins KP, Meijns NRC, Marshall-Phelps KLH, et al.. Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel. . 2026. PMID 41678629 · DOI · PMC7618902
- Zehr EA, Sun S, Sarbanes SL, Roll-Mecak A. Microtubules in the axon are GDP bound but adopt a stable GTP-like expanded state. . 2026. PMID 41951886 · DOI · PMC13095656
- Palmiero A, Pipicelli L, Rosa G, Sozio C, Punziano C, Raia M, et al.. Dose-Dependent Biphasic Effect of Palmitic Acid on Oligodendrocyte Function: Impacts on Viability, Differentiation, and Myelination. . 2026. PMID 41661646 · DOI · PMC12885150
- Hu X, Xu W, Ren Y, Wang Z, He X, Huang R, et al.. Spinal cord injury: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic interventions. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2023. PMID 37357239 · DOI · PMC10291001
- Zheng B, Tuszynski MH. Regulation of axonal regeneration after mammalian spinal cord injury. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2023. PMID 36604586 · DOI
- Varadarajan SG, Hunyara JL, Hamilton NR, Kolodkin AL, Huberman AD. Central nervous system regeneration. Cell. 2022. PMID 34995518 · DOI · PMC10896592
- Scott-Solomon E, Boehm E, Kuruvilla R. The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2021. PMID 34599308 · DOI · PMC8530968
- de Faria O, Pivonkova H, Varga B, Timmler S, Evans KA, Káradóttir RT. Periods of synchronized myelin changes shape brain function and plasticity. Nat Neurosci. 2021. PMID 34711959 · DOI
- Tian T, Zhang S, Yang M. Recent progress and challenges in the treatment of spinal cord injury. Protein Cell. 2023. PMID 36856750 · DOI · PMC10501188
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-29.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.