The Journal of Neuroscience, 1999, 19:RC25:1-5
RAPID COMMUNICATION
Hot and Cold Nociception Are Genetically Correlated
Jeffrey S.
Mogil and
Seetal M.
Adhikari
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820
Recent experiments in our laboratory have revealed a genetic
correlation of the sensitivity of inbred mouse strains to different assays of nociception using noxious heat stimuli. An open question is
whether the property of the noxious stimulus underlying the genetic
correlation is heat specifically or simply a temperature (hot or cold)
in the noxious range. The existing electrophysiological, psychophysical, neurochemical, and functional imaging literatures regarding the relationship of heat pain and cold pain are quite contentious, with a number of similarities and dissociations being documented. In the present study, we tested 12 inbred mouse strains (129/J, A/J, AKR/J, BALB/cJ, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, C57BL/10J, C58/J, CBA/J, DBA/2J, RIIIS/J, and SM/J) for their reflexive withdrawal sensitivity to immersion of the tail in hot (47.5°C) and cold (
15°C) water and compared the observed latencies with those
obtained previously, using a 49°C stimulus. All three traits
displayed substantial heritabilities, ranging from 0.41 to 0.50. Strain means on these nociceptive traits displayed a high degree of
cross-correlation (r = 0.49-0.77). Genetic
correlation of hot and cold nociception implies that similar genes
underlie interindividual variability in both traits in mice and further
suggests that these nociceptive types share physiological mediation.
This finding is discussed in relation to existing data in other mammals
including humans.
Key words:
thermal; pain; inbred strains; correlated responses; genetics; mice
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