title: Spread of excitation across modality borders in spinal dorsal horn of neuropathic rats.
abstract: Under physiological conditions, nociceptive information is mainly processed in superficial laminae of the spinal dorsal horn, whereas non-nociceptive information is processed in deeper laminae. Neuropathic pain patients often suffer from touch-evoked pain (allodynia), suggesting that modality borders are disrupted in their nervous system. We studied whether excitation evoked in deep dorsal horn neurons either via stimulation of primary afferent Abeta-fibres, by direct electrical stimulation or via glutamate microinjection leads to activation of neurons in the superficial dorsal horn. We used Ca(2+)-imaging in transversal spinal cord slices of neuropathic and control animals to monitor spread of excitation from the deep to the superficial spinal dorsal horn. In neuropathic but not control animals, a spread of excitation occurred from the deep to the superficial dorsal horn. The spread of excitation was synaptically mediated as it was blocked by the AMPA receptor antagonist CNQX. In contrast, block of NMDA receptors was ineffective. In control animals, the violation of modality borders could be reproduced by bath application of GABA(A) and glycine receptor antagonists. Furthermore, we could show that neuropathic animals were more prone to synchronous network activity than control animals. Thus, following peripheral nerve injury, excitation generated in dorsal horn areas which process non-nociceptive information can invade superficial dorsal horn areas which normally receive nociceptive input. This may be a spinal mechanism of touch-evoked pain.
authors.affiliation: Department for Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schoffnegger
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ruscheweyh
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sandkühler
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000187:drug effects; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000378:metabolism; D018009:Receptors, Glycine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D018009:Receptors, Glycine; D002118:Calcium