Physiology & behavior
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Physiology & behavior · Feb 2003
Sleep and EEG patterns in the chronic constriction injury model of neuropathic pain.
Chronic neuropathic pain patients often report sleep disturbances such as reduced amount of sleep and excessive daytime tiredness. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible abnormalities in sleep patterns in a widely used animal model of neuropathic pain. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were chronically implanted with electrodes for electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) registrations to allow continuous 24-h polygraphic recording. ⋯ It is concluded that in the chronic phase, this neuropathic pain model does not produce clear sleep disturbances. Such an absence of general suffering from sleep disturbances is advantageous to the CCI model as it makes use of the model more acceptable ethically. Nonetheless, this outcome appears to be in contrast with the clinical situation in neuropathic pain and therefore could also be seen as a disadvantage for the face validity of the CCI model.