The mechanism of descending pain excitatory system in the spinal dorsal horn neurons due to the activation of anterior cingulate cortex

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26462253
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Orthopaedic surgery
• Research Institution: Wakayama Medical University (2015-2016); Kansai University of Health Sciences (2014)
• Principal Investigator: Taniguchi Wataru 和歌山県立医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (20453194)
• Research Collaborator: Nishio Naoko 和歌山県立医科大学, 医学部, 特別研究員 (40648359) ; Yamanaka Manabu 和歌山県立医科大学, 医学部, 博士研究員 (30597084) ; Sonekatsu Mayumi 和歌山県立医科大学, 医学部, 博士研究員 (40725579)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 前帯状皮質 / 前帯状回 / ACC / in vivo パッチクランプ法 / 下行性疼痛賦活 / spinal cord / dorsal horn / EPSC

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we showed the enhancement of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in the spinal dorsal horn neurons of normal rats according to the electrical stimulation of their ACC by using in vivo patch-clamp methods. Howover, we could not find this enhancement in the nerve injury model rats (spared nerve injury rats) because their sEPSCs already had been enhanced before ACC electrical stimulation. Moreover, we confirmed that the enhancement of sEPSCs in SNI rats was inhibited by the injection of a selective AMPA antagonist into ACC. We showed that the electrical stimulation of ACC produced direct excitatory effects in the spinal dorsal horn neurons of normal rats to both noxious and innocuous stimuli to the skin. These results suggest that the descending pain excitatory system could be from anterior cingulate cortex to the spinal dorsal horn neurons.

Free Research Field

整形外科　神経生理