Secure cranial-mount intrathecal cannulation - a spinal administration technique in the rat

In order to identify an acute spinally mediated pharmacological effect of a bioactive substance, without incurring untoward supraspinal effects, it is necessary to administer the agent locally onto the spinal cord. The procedure delineated herein presents a modern technique to install a stable, permanent indwelling thecal cannulae with a cranially mounted aperture, and details a simple, repeatable administration system. These methods facilitate a quick, noninvasive spinal drug microadministration that is most useful for differentiation of the locus of pharmacological action without the behavioral disruption associated with other administration methodologies.