Short-term anesthesia inhibits formalin-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex but not in the spinal cord

In this study, we investigated whether administration of anesthesia at the time of injury could reduce phosphorylated-ERK (PERK) expression in the rACC, which might eliminate the negative affective component of noxious stimulation. Intraplantar hindpaw formalin stimulation, an aversive event in the awake animal, was given with or without general isoflurane anesthesia, and PERK expression was subsequently quantified in the rACC using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, as numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of spinal ERK signaling in the regulation of nociceptive behaviour, we also examined PERK in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord.FindingsFormalin injection with and without short-term (
Source: Molecular Pain - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Source Type: research