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Anesth Analg 2006;102:1775-1780
© 2006 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000219588.25375.36

PAIN MEDICINE

The Role of the Craniospinal Nerves in Mediating the Antinociceptive Effect of Transcranial Electrostimulation in the Rat

Vladimir Nekhendzy, MD, M. Frances Davies, PhD, Hendrikus J. M. Lemmens, MD, PhD, and Mervyn Maze, MB, ChB, FRCP, FRCA

Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California; Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Imperial College, London and Chelsea and Westminster NHS Hospital Trust, London, UK

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Vladimir Nekhendzy, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Stanford University Medical Center, Department of Anesthesia, 300 Pasteur Drive Stanford, CA 94305–5640. Address e-mail to nek{at}stanford.edu.

Transcranial electrostimulation (TES) has been reported to elicit significant analgesia, but its mechanism of action has not been elucidated. In a recently introduced clinically relevant rat model of TES we have validated and characterized the TES antinociceptive effect, suggesting involvement of the sensory nerves of the rat's scalp in mediating that effect. In this study, we have further investigated the role of the craniospinal nerves by attempting to block the TES antinociceptive effect with local anesthetic injected under the TES electrodes. We also applied different transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation modalities through the TES electrodes and compared the elicited antinociceptive effect to that of TES. The antinociceptive effect was assessed by measuring nociceptive thresholds in the tail-flick latency test in awake, unrestrained male rats. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by the Bonferroni t-test. The TES antinociceptive effect was significantly reduced after local anesthetic injection, and administration of 100 Hz transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was, over time, capable of eliciting the same degree of antinociceptive effect as TES. We conclude that sensory craniospinal nerves play a critical role in mediating the TES antinociceptive action and offer a hypothesis on the underlying mechanism(s) responsible for this action.






Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.