• Hiba-Douja Chehade, Sandra Kobaïter-Maarrawi, Fares Komboz, Jean-Paul Farhat, Michel Magnin, Luis Garcia-Larrea, and Joseph Maarrawi.
• Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience - Pôle technologie santé - Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
• Neuromodulation. 2021 Feb 1; 24 (2): 229-239.

BackgroundThe posterior insula (PI) has been proposed as a potential neurostimulation target for neuropathic pain relief as it represents a key-structure in pain processing. However, currently available data remain inconclusive as to efficient stimulation parameters.ObjectiveAs frequency was shown to be the most correlated parameter to pain relief, this study aims to evaluate the potential modulatory effects of low frequency (LF-IS, 50 Hz) and high-frequency (HF-IS, 150 Hz) posterior insular stimulation on the activity of somatosensory thalamic nuclei.Materials And MethodsEpidural bipolar electrodes were placed over the PI of healthy adult cats, and extracellular single-unit activities of nociceptive (NS), nonnociceptive (NN), and wide dynamic range (WDR) thalamic cells were recorded within the ventral posterolateral nucleus and the medial division of the thalamic posterior complex. Mean discharge frequency and burst firing mode were analyzed before and after either LF-IS or HF-IS.ResultsLF-IS showed a significant thalamic modulatory effects increasing the firing rate of NN cells (p ≤ 0.03) and decreasing the burst firing of NS cells (p ≤ 0.03), independently of the thalamic nucleus. Conversely, HF-IS did not induce any change in firing properties of the three recorded cell types.ConclusionThese data indicate that 50 Hz IS could be a better candidate to control neuropathic pain.© 2020 International Neuromodulation Society.

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