title: Mechanical and cold allodynia in a rat spinal cord contusion model.
abstract: This study examined the time course of mechanical and cold allodynia in rat hindpaw after spinal cord contusion. Hindpaw withdrawal threshold to graded von Frey hair stimulation and withdrawal frequency to acetone application were measured in rats subjected to contusions of varying severity, produced by a MASCIS impactor device with a 10 g weight dropped from 6.25, 12.5, or 25 mm. Mechanical and cold allodynia developed following the injury, and differences in the incidence of allodynia and in withdrawal threshold were significant among these groups. The least severe injury (6.25 mm) most consistently caused a decreased hindpaw threshold to mechanical stimulation and an increased withdrawal frequency to cold.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, and Center for the Study of Nervous System Injury, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Young Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Hongxin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Joop J A
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Arends
authors.forename: Mark F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Jacquin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006614:Hindlimb; D008297:Male; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017288:Pain Threshold; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*