The effect of pituitary-adrenal function in the modulation of pain sensitivity in the rat

1. The relationship between adrenalcortical hormones, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), and pain sensitivity was investigated in the rat. Pain sensitivity was assessed by measuring paw-lick and jump latencies in response to being placed on a grid at 55 degrees C.2. Bilateral adrenalectomy increased the sensitivity to pain, but adrenal demedullation had no effect.3. Pain sensitivity was inversely related to the circadian changes in circulating corticosterone and was greater at 7 a.m. than at 7 p.m. However, the same variation in pain sensitivity existed if the adrenals were removed, suggesting that the increase in pain sensitivity after adrenalectomy was not related directly to the levels of corticosteriods.4. The time course of the increase in pain sensitivity after adrenalectomy paralleled that of the changes in circulating ACTH. Adrenalectomy markedly increased pain sensitivity at 9 and 18 days following surgery when circulating ACTH levels were markedly elevated and corticosterone was absent, but not at 3 days following adrenalectomy when ACTH levels were lower and corticosterone was absent.5. Hypophysectomy decreased the sensitivity to pain.6. The results indicate that ACTH can alter pain sensitivity and that the effect of corticosteroids on the sensitivity to pain is an indirect one by virtue of their negative feed-back action on the hypothalamic-pituitary system.