Substance P-Mediated Slow Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential Elicited in Dorsal Horn Neurons in vivo by Noxious Stimulation

The original proposal that substance P is involved in the regulation of nociceptive information at the first sensory synapse in the spinal cord has been substantiated by a wide range of evidence, but definitive support has been lacking, due primarily to the lack of evidence that a specific nocicepti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1991-12, Vol.88 (24), p.11344-11348
Main Authors: De Koninck, Y, Henry, J L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biphenyl Compounds - pharmacology
Cats
Depolarization
dorsal horn
Electric stimulation
evoked potentials
Evoked Potentials - drug effects
Ganglia, Spinal - physiology
Hair
Intravenous injections
Nerves
Neurons
Neurons - drug effects
Neurons - physiology
Nociceptors - physiology
pain
Pain - physiopathology
Physiological stimulation
Posterior horn
Receptors
Receptors, Neurokinin-1
Receptors, Neurotransmitter - antagonists & inhibitors
Receptors, Neurotransmitter - physiology
Spinal cord
Spinal Cord - physiology
Spinal Cord - physiopathology
Substance P - physiology
Synapses - drug effects
Synapses - physiology
Time Factors
Touch
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The original proposal that substance P is involved in the regulation of nociceptive information at the first sensory synapse in the spinal cord has been substantiated by a wide range of evidence, but definitive support has been lacking, due primarily to the lack of evidence that a specific nociceptive response in the dorsal horn can be blocked by a substance P antagonist. Here, we present evidence that CP-96,345, a specific substance P (NK-1) receptor antagonist, selectively blocks a slow, prolonged excitatory postsynaptic potential following noxious cutaneous stimulation or a train of intense electrical stimuli to sensory nerves but does not affect the response to innocuous input or the brief response to single electrical stimuli to C fibers. These results indicate the specific involvement of substance P in the mediation of a prolonged after-excitation to noxious stimulation. This may have important implications for the etiology and treatment of chronic pain and for plastic changes in nociceptive pathways.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.88.24.11344