Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Oct 2009
Licking decreases phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord after a formalin test.
Nociceptive behaviors might attenuate pain sensation. Phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) was recently reported to be induced by noxious stimuli in dorsal horn neurons. We investigated, in a formalin test, whether pERK of the dorsal horn is affected by licking. ⋯ Licking decreased pERK of the spinal cord of the formalin test group. The findings suggested that licking attenuated the pain of the formalin test.