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Related Experiment Videos

Long-term potentiation in spinothalamic neurons.

William D Willis1

  • 1Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences and Marine Biomedical Institute, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Avenue, Galveston, TX 77555-1069, USA. wdwillis@utmb.edu

Brain Research. Brain Research Reviews
|February 19, 2003
PubMed
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Central sensitization in the spinal cord, including spinothalamic tract (STT) cells, may involve long-term potentiation (LTP). This process enhances pain responses after injury by altering neuron excitability and neurotransmitter activity.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Research
  • Spinal Cord Physiology

Background:

  • Secondary hyperalgesia and allodynia after tissue injury are linked to sensitization of dorsal horn neurons.
  • Central sensitization enhances responses to sensory stimuli without altering primary afferent neuron excitability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if central sensitization of spinothalamic tract (STT) neurons is a form of long-term potentiation (LTP).
  • To review evidence for LTP in the spinal cord and identify neurotransmitters and signaling pathways involved in central sensitization.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on spinal cord LTP, neurotransmitters (excitatory amino acids, peptides), and signal transduction pathways.
  • Examination of the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and NK1 receptors in central sensitization.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of changes in excitatory and inhibitory amino acid responses and intracellular signaling cascades (PKC, NO/PKG, PKA, CaMKII).

    • Main Results:

    • Evidence suggests LTP occurs in the spinal cord.
    • Co-activation of NMDA and NK1 receptors induces long-lasting increases in STT cell responses, and their antagonists prevent central sensitization.
    • Central sensitization involves increased responses to excitatory amino acids and decreased responses to inhibitory amino acids, mediated by signal transduction pathways and receptor phosphorylation.

    Conclusions:

    • Central sensitization of STT neurons is proposed to be a form of LTP.
    • Phosphorylation of neurotransmitter receptors, potentially involving CaMKII, plays a role in altering receptor sensitivity and driving central sensitization.
    • These mechanisms are comparable to those observed during LTP in brain structures.