title: Intrathecal galanin blocks the prolonged increase in spinal cord flexor reflex excitability induced by conditioning stimulation of unmyelinated muscle afferents in the rat.
abstract: The effect of intrathecal (i.t.) galanin (GAL) on the prolonged increase of spinal reflex excitability produced by conditioning stimulation (CS) of unmyelinated muscle afferents was studied in decerebrate, spinalized, unanesthetized rats. A CS train (1 Hz, 20 s) applied to the unmyelinated fibers in the gastrocnemius muscle nerve facilitated the ipsilateral flexor for about 1 h. Pretreatment with GAL (0.1-10 microgram) decreased reflex facilitation induced by the gastrocnemius nerve CS. The present results indicate that GAL is capable of blocking the prolonged increase in spinal cord excitability after stimulation of unmyelinated muscle afferents, possibly by antagonizing the facilitatory effect of tachykinins and calcitonin gene-related peptide released at the intraspinal terminals of these fibers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Physiology, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: X J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wiesenfeld-Hallin
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hökfelt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D019004:Galanin; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000502:physiology; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000187:drug effects*; D010455:Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D019004:Galanin