We and others have previously demonstrated that nociception in the mouse is heritable. A genetic correlation analysis of 12 common measures of nociception among a common set of inbred strains revealed three major clusters (or ‘types’) of nociception in this species. In the present study, we re-evaluated the major types of nociception and their interrelatedness using ten additional assays of noc...

The involvement of the prefrontal cortex in pain processing has been recently addressed. We studied the role of the infralimbic cortex (IL) and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in descending modulation of nociception in control and monoarthritic (ARTH) conditions. Nociception was assessed using heat-induced paw withdrawal while drugs were microinjected in the IL of rats. Local ...

introduction: formalin injection induces nociceptive bahaviour in phase i and ii, with a quiescent phase between them. while active inhibitory mechanisms are proposed to be responsible for initiation of interphase, the exact mechanisms which lead to termination of nociceptive response in phase ii are not clear yet. phase ii is a consequence of peripheral and central sensitization processes, whi...

BACKGROUND The frequency of accidental spider bites in Brazil is growing, and poisoning due to bites from the spider genus Phoneutria nigriventer is the second most frequent source of such accidents. Intense local pain is the major symptom reported after bites of P. nigriventer, although the mechanisms involved are still poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the me...

The Drosophila TRPA channel Painless is required for the function of polymodal nociceptors which detect noxious heat and noxious mechanical stimuli. These functions of Painless are reminiscent of mammalian TRPA channels that have also been implicated in thermal and mechanical nociception. A popular hypothesis to explain the mechanosensory functions of certain TRP channels proposes that a string...

We have investigated the mechanisms involved in the genesis of edema and nociception induced by Philodryas patagoniensis venom (PpV) injected into the footpad of mice. PpV induced dose-related edema and nociceptive effects. Pretreatment of mice with cyclooxygenase inhibitor (indomethacin), but not with cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor (celecoxib) markedly inhibited both effects. Pretreatments with H1...

Here, we describe a targeted reverse genetic screen for thermal nociception genes in Drosophila larvae. Using laser capture microdissection and microarray analyses of nociceptive and non-nociceptive neurons, we identified 275 nociceptor-enriched genes. We then tested the function of the enriched genes with nociceptor-specific RNAi and thermal nociception assays. Tissue-specific RNAi targeted ag...