title: Prior stress exposure increases pain behaviors in a rat model of full thickness thermal injury.
abstract: Thermal burns among individuals working in highly stressful environments, such as firefighters and military Service Members, are common. Evidence suggests that pre-injury stress may exaggerate pain following thermal injury; however current animal models of burn have not evaluated the potential influence of pre-burn stress. This sham-controlled study evaluated the influence of prior stress exposure on post-burn thermal and mechanical sensitivity in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were exposed to 20 min of inescapable swim stress or sham stress once per day for three days. Exposure to inescapable swim stress (1) increased the intensity and duration of thermal hyperalgesia after subsequent burn and (2) accelerated the onset of thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia after subsequent burn. This stress-induced exacerbation of pain sensitivity was reversed by pretreatment and concurrent treatment with the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine. These data suggest a better understanding of mechanisms by which prior stress augments pain after thermal burn may lead to improved pain treatments for burn survivors.
authors.affiliation: Pain Management Research Area, United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, Fort Sam Houston, TX, United States. Electronic address: jen.e.nyland@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Nyland
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Samuel A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McLean
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Dayna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Averitt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D000068736:Duloxetine Hydrochloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000523:psychology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D000068760:Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D000068760:Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors; D000068736:Duloxetine Hydrochloride
keywords: Allodynia; Burn pain; Hyperalgesia; Stress; Thermal injury