Somatosensory & motor research
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Comparative Study
Comparison of hyperalgesia induced by capsaicin injection and controlled heat injury: effect on temporal summation.
The relationship between induction of central sensitization and facilitation of temporal summation to repetitive stimulation is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate temporal summation before and after the induction of secondary hyperalgesia by two different experimental methods: capsaicin injection and controlled heat injury. The effect of each injury model was assessed on a separate day with an interval of at least 5 days. ⋯ In contrast, for the mechanical impact and punctuate mechanical stimuli the degree of temporal summation was significantly facilitated in the secondary hyperalgesic areas compared with the baseline and the control arm in both models. In the primary hyperalgesic area, the degree of temporal summation was facilitated to mechanical impact and punctuate stimuli but only following the capsaicin injection. In conclusion, the temporal summation mechanism for mechanical stimuli was facilitated in the secondary hyperalgesic area.
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This study examined the time course of mechanical and cold allodynia in rat hindpaw after spinal cord contusion. Hindpaw withdrawal threshold to graded von Frey hair stimulation and withdrawal frequency to acetone application were measured in rats subjected to contusions of varying severity, produced by a MASCIS impactor device with a 10 g weight dropped from 6.25, 12.5, or 25 mm. Mechanical and cold allodynia developed following the injury, and differences in the incidence of allodynia and in withdrawal threshold were significant among these groups. The least severe injury (6.25 mm) most consistently caused a decreased hindpaw threshold to mechanical stimulation and an increased withdrawal frequency to cold.