title: Constriction of the buccal branch of the facial nerve produces unilateral craniofacial allodynia.
abstract: Despite pain being a sensory experience, studies of spinal cord ventral root damage have demonstrated that motor neuron injury can induce neuropathic pain. Whether injury of cranial motor nerves can also produce nociceptive hypersensitivity has not been addressed. Herein, we demonstrate that chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the buccal branch of the facial nerve results in long-lasting, unilateral allodynia in the rat. An anterograde and retrograde tracer (3000MW tetramethylrhodamine-conjugated dextran) was not transported to the trigeminal ganglion when applied to the injury site, but was transported to the facial nucleus, indicating that this nerve branch is not composed of trigeminal sensory neurons. Finally, intracisterna magna injection of interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist reversed allodynia, implicating the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1 in the maintenance of neuropathic pain induced by facial nerve CCI. These data extend the prior evidence that selective injury to motor axons can enhance pain to supraspinal circuits by demonstrating that injury of a facial nerve with predominantly motor axons is sufficient for neuropathic pain, and that the resultant pain has a neuroimmune component.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
authors.forename: Susannah S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA; School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Grace
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
authors.forename: Steven F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. Electronic address: linda.watkins@colorado.edu.
authors.forename: Linda R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Watkins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000166:cytology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020220:Facial Nerve Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D065828:Facial Nucleus / Q000166:cytology; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017472:Receptors, Interleukin-1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D017472:Receptors, Interleukin-1
keywords: Glia; Hyperalgesia; Mirror-image pain; Muscle; Orofacial