The Modality-Specific Contribution of Peptidergic and Non-Peptidergic Nociceptors is Manifest at the Level of Dorsal Horn Nociresponsive Neurons

Document Type

Journal Article

Role

Author

Standard Number

0022-3751

Journal Title

The Journal of Physiology

Volume

591

First Page

1097

Last Page

1110

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

We previously demonstrated that genetic and/or pharmacological ablation of the TRPV1+/peptidergic or the MrgprD+/non-peptidergic subset of nociceptors produced selective, modality-specific deficits in the behavioural responses to heat and mechanical stimuli, respectively. To assess whether this modality-specific contribution is also manifest at the level of spinal cord neuron responsiveness, here we made extracellular recordings from lumbar dorsal horn neurons of the mouse in response to graded thermal and mechanical stimulation. We found that, following intrathecal injection of capsaicin to eliminate the central terminals of TRPV1+ nociceptors, neurons in the region of laminae I and V of the spinal cord lost responsiveness to noxious heat (whether generated by a contact heat probe or diode laser), with no change in their response to noxious mechanical stimulation.

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