A feedback-controlled dynamic linear actuator to test foot withdrawal thresholds in rat.
We describe a method for evaluating the threshold for cutaneous mechanical sensation in rodents, based on a stimulator that drives a probe against the plantar surface of the foot. The stimulator applies loads that can be either constant or linearly increased. We describe withdrawal responses, including forms of movement that precede foot withdrawals. With constant stimuli, response latency declines in a nonlinear fashion as stimulus magnitude is increased. With ramped stimuli the effect of loading rate is complex, reflecting both the rate of change of the stimulus and the animal's reaction time. We demonstrate the utility of using ramped stimuli in experiments that show that thresholds vary spatially across the foot and experiments that show that intradermal capsaicin injections cause allodynia but not hyperalgesia.
Grigg
P
P
Department of Physiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave., Worcester MA 01655, USA. peter.grigg@umassmed.edu
Robichaud
D R
DR
Bove
G M
GM
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002211:Capsaicin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005246:Feedback / Q000502:physiology*; D005528:Foot / Q000294:innervation*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011336:Probability; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation; D013997:Time Factors
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D002211:Capsaicin