Responses of bradykinin sensitive tooth-pulp driven neurons in cat cerebral cortex.
The properties of single cortical neurons responding to electrical stimulation of the tooth-pulp and to intrapulpal application of bradykinin were studied in the cat. The activities of tooth-pulp driven neurons (TPNs) were recorded from the middle and anterior parts of the coronal gyrus of the cerebral cortex. Bradykinin-sensitive tooth-pulp driven neurons (BK-TPNs) were located in layer IV of area 3b of the anterior part of the coronal gyrus. These neurons had a large cutaneous oro-facial receptive field and received a nociceptive input from the facial skin as well as from the tooth-pulp. The BK-TPNs had a higher threshold and longer latency to electrical stimulation than TPNs insensitive to bradykinin (non BK-TPNs). These findings suggest that BK-TPNs in this cortical area may be involved in sensory processing of noxious information from trigeminal regions.
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001920:Bradykinin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002415:Cats; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000294:innervation*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D001920:Bradykinin