Sensational organization in the dorsal horn

Gabapentin prevents oxaliplatin-induced central sensitization in the dorsal horn neurons in rats

Objective(s): The present study aims to study the alteration of glutamatergic transmission in the dorsal horn neurons and the effect of gabapentin on oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain in rats. Materials and Methods: Oxaliplatin (5 mg/kg) or saline was administered to adult male Sprague-Dawley rats.  Gabapentin (60 mg/kg, IP) or vehicle was injected daily. Mechanical allodynia was assessed us...

Organization of intralaminar and translaminar neuronal connectivity in the superficial spinal dorsal horn.

The spinal dorsal horn exhibits a high degree of intrinsic connectivity that is critical to its role in the processing of nociceptive information. To examine the spatial organization of this intrinsic connectivity, we used laser-scanning photostimulation in parasagittal and transverse slices of lumbar spinal cord to stimulate presynaptic neurons by glutamate uncaging, and mapped the location of...

Dorsal Horn of the Spinal Cord

Separate inhibitory and excitatory components underlying receptive field organization in superficial medullary dorsal horn neurons.

Extracellular recording has shown that dorsal horn neurons can have an inhibitory surround outside their excitatory receptive field, but cannot reveal inhibitory inputs within the excitatory field, or show the underlying excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs that determine net output. To study the underlying components of receptive field organization, in vivo patch-clamp recording was used ...

The development of Inhibition in the neonatal dorsal horn

Spinal nociceptive processing undergoes extensive maturation in the postnatal period. Dorsal horn neurons are more easily excited by peripheral stimuli in young animals and nociceptive reflexes are less well directed. Since circuits in the central nervous system require a balance of excitation and inhibition, I hypothesised that the maturation of inhibitory circuitry is responsible for changing...