In an elderly woman a small thalamic infarct, documented by computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, caused proprioceptive loss contralaterally without impairment of other sensory modalities. This patient, the first so reported, demonstrates the anatomic separation of spinothalamic and dorsal column/medial lemniscus sensory modalities in the human thalamus.

In cat and monkey, lamina I cells can be classified into three basic morphological types (fusiform, pyramidal, and multipolar), and recent intracellular labeling evidence in the cat indicates that fusiform and multipolar lamina I cells are two different types of nociceptive cells, whereas pyramidal cells are innocuous thermoreceptive-specific. Because earlier observations indicated that only no...

The incidence and response properties of nociresponsive neurons, their locations relative to spinothalamic terminals, and their relations to cytoarchitectonic borders were studied in the lateral thalamus of the squirrel monkey. Nociceptive neurons were found in ventral posterior inferior nucleus (VPI), in the lateral and medial nuclei (VPL and VPM) of the ventral posterior complex (VP = VPL + V...

Sensitization of the responses of dorsal horn neurons to mechanical stimulation may play a role in the generation of hyperalgesia. Intradermal injection of capsaicin (CAP) provides a model of experimental hyperalgesia that possesses a component of allodynia. This hyperalgesia is produced by chemical stimulation of C-fibers, leading to sensitization of dorsal horn neurons, including spinothalami...

Three male and two female patients with anorgasmia and dissociated sensory loss due to an anterior spinal cord syndrome are described. Clinical, neurophysiological and quantitative sensory evaluation revealed preservation of the large fibre dorsal column functions from the lumbosacral segments with concomitant severe dysfunction or absence of the small fibre neospinothalamic mediated functions....

To be considered specific for nociception, a cortical region should: (a) have plausible connections with ascending nociceptive pathways; (b) be activated by noxious stimuli; (c) trigger nociceptive sensations if directly stimulated; and (d) tone down nociception when injured. In addition, lesions in this area should have a potential to develop neuropathic pain, as is the case of all lesions in ...

The recent discovery of a barbiturate-sensitive “general anesthesia switch” mechanism localized in the rat brainstem mesopontine tegmental anesthesia area (MPTA) has challenged the current view of the non-specific actions of general anesthetic agents in the CNS (Devor and Zalkind 2001). In this study we provide electrophysiological evidence that the antinociception, which accompanies the behavi...

Our recent work has suggested that the nitric oxide/guanosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (NO/cGMP) signal transduction system contributes to central sensitization of spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons in part by influencing the descending inhibition of nociception resulting from stimulation in the periaqueductal gray. This study was designed to examine further whether activation of the NO/cGMP ...

BNST Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis CCK Cholecystokinin cGMP Cyclic guanosine monophosphate DCN Dorsal central autonomic nucleus fMRI Functional magnetic resonance imaging IML Intermediolateral cell column LCTF Lateral central tegmental field LSt cells Lumbar spinothalamic cells MEA Medial amygdala MPOA Medial preoptic area NO Nitric oxide nPGi Nucleus paragigantocellularis NPY Neuropeptid...