Switching-on and -off of bistable spontaneous discharges in rat spinal deep dorsal horn neurons

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2006

Authors

Monteiro, C (Author) FMUP; Deolinda, L (Author) Other; Galhardo, V (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Neuroscience Letters

Vol. 398 No. 3

Pages: 258-263

ISSN: 0304-3940

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 4 Citations

Scopus - 5 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

CORDIS: Health sciences > Neuroscience

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-004-KSY

DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2006.01.008

Abstract (EN): Somatosensory deep dorsal horn spinal neurons were previously shown to present in vitro a bistable state of activity in which a fixed firing rate is maintained over prolonged periods in the absence of stimulation. Those periods of enhanced spinal spontaneous discharge may play a role in the genesis or maintenance of hyperalgesic states, where episodes of durable spontaneous pain are commonly reported. Here we show in vivo that a small percentage of deep spinal neurons (4% of the recorded population) are capable of rapidly shifting between low-frequency and high-frequency levels of spontaneous activity. At least one of the transitions between the two states was induced by stimulation of the receptive field, making this an interesting and unique case in which stable firing rates are switched-on or -off by somatosensory stimuli.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6