Normal male reproductive function, particularly ejaculation, requires the integrity of urogenital sensory input and its ascending spinal projections. After midthoracic chronic spinal cord injury, sexual dysfunction occurs in both rats and humans. Neurons in the medullary reticular formation (MRF) are involved in the processing of bilaterally convergent sensory inputs from multiple cutaneous, mu...

OBJECT The authors conducted a study to evaluate repetitive transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) to assess spinal cord motor tract function in individuals undergoing spine surgery, with emphasis on safety and efficacy. METHODS Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) were elicited using standard technique. Muscle electromyographic values were measured in response to a three- or four-pulse...

Low voltage-activated (LVA) T-type Ca(2+) (I(Ca)T) and NaN/Nav1.9 currents regulate DRG neurons by setting the threshold for the action potential. Although alterations in these channels have been implicated in a variety of pathological pain states, their roles in processing sensory information remain poorly understood. Here, we carried out a detailed characterization of LVA currents in DRG neur...

Heat-activated ion channels from the vanilloid-type TRP group (TRPV1-4) seem to be central for heat-sensitivity of nociceptive sensory neurons. Displaying a high-threshold (> 52 degrees C) for activation, TRPV2 was proposed to act as a sensor for intense noxious heat in mammalian sensory neurons. However, although TRPV2 is expressed in a distinct population of thinly myelinated primary afferent...

Two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) and Go/NoGo (GNG) tasks are behavioral choice paradigms commonly used to study sensory and cognitive processing in choice behavior. While GNG is thought to isolate the sensory/decisional component by eliminating the need for response selection as in 2AFC, a consistent tendency for subjects to make more Go responses (both higher hits and false alarm rates) in...

Background Research has suggested that persistent sensory and motor impairments predominate the symptoms experienced by patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS); with intermittent pain symptoms, being less predominant. Objective The study aims to determine the relative contribution of sensory, motor and pain impairments as contributors to patient-report or performance-based hand function. ...

In the present study, we first report an in vivo characterization of flexor responses induced by three distinct sine-wave stimuli in the electrical stimulation-induced paw flexion (EPF) test in mice. The fixed sine-wave electric stimulations of 5 Hz (C-fiber), 250 Hz (Adelta-fiber) and 2000 Hz (Abeta-fiber) to the hind paw of mice induced a paw-flexion response and vocalization. The average thr...

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate whether quantitative sensory testing with Von Frey monofilaments can be used for the quantification of allodynia in patients with chronic neuropathic pain, and how the pain threshold of affected skin differs from healthy skin. Methods: Using Von Frey monofilaments, we aimed to determine the pain threshold in 22 patients suffering from allodyni...