Nerve conduction, latency, and its association with hand function in young men

Introduction: The median and ulnar nerves have been suggested to play a significant role in hand function; however, there are insufficient data to determine the strength of this association. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between hand function as measured with the Grooved pegboard test (GPT) and conduction velocity and latency of the median and ulnar nerves. Methods: We collected convenience samples in the College of Medicine, KSAU-HS. We used GPT to characterize hand function and performed measured nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and latency of the ulnar and median nerves of both hands. We used the Edinburgh handedness inventory (EHI) to determine hand dominance. Results: We recruited 28 healthy medical students aged 20–29 years (mean: 21.46 ± 1.62 years). Most were right-handed (n = 25, 89.3%), with a mean EHI score of 302 ± 210. The mean GPT time was significantly faster in the dominant (65.5 ± 6.4 s) than in the non-dominant (75.0 ± 9.6 s) hand. The NCV for the ulnar nerve of the dominant hand was significantly correlated with GPT (r = -0.52, p = 0.005) while median nerve was not correlated (0.24, p = 0.21). Regression analysis and collinearity test showed that the ulnar NCV explained 20% of the variance in GPT of the dominant hand (R2 = 0.203, p = 0.016). Conclusion: The ulnar nerve conduction velocity, explained 20% of the variance in GPT times of the young men. Performance on this biomarker of neurological health seems to be more influenced by other factors in healthy young individuals.