Electrical stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex inhibits spinal dorsal horn neuron activity

Cortical stimulation has been demonstrated to alleviate certain pain conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the responses of the spinal cord dorsal horn neurons to stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex (SSC). We hypothesized that direct stimulation of the SSC will inhibit the activity of spinal dorsal horn neurons by activating the descending inhibitory system. Thirty-four wide dynamic range spinal dorsal horn neurons were recorded in response to graded mechanical stimulation (brush, pressure, and pinch) at their respective receptive fields while a stepwise electrical stimulation (300 Hz, 0.1 ms, at 10, 20, and 30 V) was applied in the SSC through a bipolar tungsten electrode. The responses to brush at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 16.0 +/- 2.3, 15.8 +/- 2.2, 14.6 +/- 1.8, 14.8 +/- 2.0, and 17.0 +/- 2.2 spikes/s, respectively. The responses to pressure at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 44.7 +/- 5.5, 37.0 +/- 5.6, 29.5 +/- 4.8, 31.6 +/- 5.2, and 43.2 +/- 5.7 spikes/s, respectively. The responses to pinch at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 58.1 +/- 7.0, 42.9 +/- 5.5, 34.8 +/- 3.9, 34.6 +/- 4.4, and 52.6 +/- 6.0 spikes/s, respectively. Significant decreases of the dorsal horn neuronal responses to pressure and pinch were observed during SSC stimulation. It is concluded that electrical stimulation of the SSC produces transient inhibition of the responses of spinal cord dorsal horn neurons to higher intensity mechanical stimuli without affecting innocuous stimuli.