Sensitization of lamina I spinoparabrachial neurons parallels heat hyperalgesia in the chronic constriction injury model of neuropathic pain

It has been proposed that spinal lamina I neurons with ascending axons that project to the midbrain play a crucial role in hyperalgesia. To test this hypothesis the quantitative properties of lamina I spinoparabrachial neurons in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain were compared to those of unoperated and sham-operated controls. Behavioural testing showed that animals with a CCI exhibited heat hyperalgesia within 4 days of the injury, and this hyperalgesia persisted throughout the 14-day post-operative testing period. In the CCI, nociceptive lamina I spinoparabrachial neurons had heat thresholds that were significantly lower than controls (43.0 ± 2.8°C vs. 46.7 ± 2.6°C; P < 10(−4), ANOVA). Nociceptive lamina I spinoparabrachial neurons were also significantly more responsive to graded heat stimuli in the CCI, compared to controls (P < 0.02, 2-factor repeated-measures ANOVA), and increased after-discharges were also observed. Furthermore, the heat-evoked stimulus–response functions of lamina I spinoparabrachial neurons in CCI animals co-varied significantly (P < 0.03, ANCOVA) with the amplitude of heat hyperalgesia determined behaviourally. Taken together these results are consistent with the hypothesis that lamina I spinoparabrachial neurons have an important mechanistic role in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain.