Further Evidence for the Involvement of SmI Cortical Neurons in Nociception: Their Responsiveness at 24 Hr after Carrageenin-Induced Hyperalgesic Inflammation in the Rat

Abstract

In this electrophysiological study, the responsiveness of neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (SmI) was analyzed in rats with carrageenin-induced hyperalgesia for 24 hr. The functional implication of some changes in neuronal activity was improved in a few cases by a pharmacological test with Xylocaine injection in or close to the neuronal receptive field (RF), or with systemic aspirin. Unit recordings were performed alternately in the SmI cortex contralateral (Cc) or ipsilateral (Ci) to the inflamed hindpaw. In 29 rats with hyperalgesia tested prior to the recording session, 218 cells (128 in the Cc, 90 in the Ci) were tested with mechanical stimuli. In each SmI cortex, about 50% of them were driven by the stimulus.

The “nonresponsive” neurons exhibited a higher firing rate in the Cc than in the Ci. The “responsive” (i.e., the somatosensory) neurons were classified according to their response to light touch, pinch, or joint movement. There was a highly significant difference between the two cortices, essentially because of the high proportion of “joint” Cc neurons (27 of 73 [37%] of the somatosensory neurons in the Cc, vs. only 8 of 47 [17%] in the Ci).

“Light touch” neurons (41 of 73 [56%] in the Cc, vs. 35 of 47 [74.5%] in the Ci) had small RFs contralateral to the recording site. Of the 41 Cc cells of this type, 23 did not exhibit the classical characteristics of “light touch” cells; in particular, they exhibited striking discharges triggered by the stimulus but outlasting the stimulus duration, or occurring without intentional stimulation. These abnormal discharges were depressed or suppressed by injection of a local anesthetic (Xylocaine) in or close to the neuronal RF. “Pinch” neurons were very rare (5 of 73 [7%] in the Cc, vs. 4 of 47 [8.5%] in the Ci). Responses elicited from the inflamed paw were more pronounced than those from the noninflamed paw. “Joint” neurons were more numerous in the Cc than in the Ci. In addition, their responses obtained from contralateral RFs, and therefore from the inflamed paw, were more sustained than Ci responses elicited from the noninflamed paw. Afterdischarges of Cc neuronal responses and spontaneous paroxysmal activity were common on this side and were depressed by local anesthetic (Xylocaine) in their RFs or by systemic aspirin.

These electrophysiological data emphasize the implication of SmI cortex in inflammatory hyperalgesia and more generally in pain processing. The neuronal responsiveness in the SmI cortex contralateral to the inflamed paw 24 hr after the beginning of the inflammatory hyperalgesia is discussed in relation to that observed on the other side, in the ventrobasal thalamic complex and SmI cortex during the acute state of inflammation (over the first hours following carageenin injection), and in the chronic hyperalgesic inflammatory state of rats with arthritis induced by Freund's adjuvant. In this subacute inflammatory hyperalgesia, the neuronal activity in the rat SmI cortex contralateral to the inflamed paw shares some characteristics with those obtained in both acute and chronic inflammation.

Key Words:

• SmI cortex
• rat
• hyperalgesia
• carrageenin