Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 14, 2708-2723, Copyright © 1994 by Society for Neuroscience
Behavioral evidence of trigeminal neuropathic pain following chronic constriction injury to the rat's infraorbital nerve
BP Vos, AM Strassman and RJ Maciewicz
Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown.
Video recordings of free behavior and responses to mechanical facial
stimulation were analyzed to assess whether chronic constriction injury
(CCI) to the rat's infraorbital nerve (IoN) results in behavioral
alterations indicative of neuropathic pain. A unilateral CCI was produced
by placing loose chromic gut ligatures around the IoN. After CCI to the
IoN, rats exhibited changes in both non-evoked and evoked behavior.
Behavioral changes developed in two phases. Early after CCI (postoperative
days 1-15), rats showed increased face-grooming activity with face-wash
strokes directed to the injured nerve territory, while the responsiveness
to stimulation of this area was decreased. Later after CCI (postoperative
days 15-130), the prevalence of asymmetric face grooming was reduced but
remained significantly increased compared to control rats. The early
hyporesponsiveness was abruptly replaced by an extreme hyperresponsiveness:
all stimulus intensities applied to the injured nerve territory evoked the
"maximal" response (brisk head withdrawal, avoidance behavior plus directed
face grooming). This response was never observed in control rats.
Concurrently, IoN ligation rats showed a limited increase in the
responsiveness to stimulation of the contralateral IoN territory, and
around postoperative days 30-40 the responsiveness to stimulation of facial
areas outside the IoN territories also increased. The hyperresponsiveness
to stimulation of the ligated IoN territory slightly decreased from 60 d
postoperative. Throughout the study, IoN ligation rats showed decreased
exploratory behavior, displayed more freezing-like behavior, had a slower
body weight gain, and a higher defecation rate, compared to control rats.
The behavioral alterations observed after CCI to the IoN are indicative of
severe sensory disturbances within the territory of the injured nerve:
mechanical allodynia develops after a period of relative hypo- /anesthesia
during which behavioral signs of recurrent spontaneous, aversive (possibly
painful) sensations (paresthesias/dysesthesias) are maximal.