Pain-related behaviour following sodium urate arthritis is expressed in decerebrate chickens

The role of the telencephalon in pain-related behaviour in arthritis was investigated by measuring pain-coping behaviour (one-legged standing, lameness, sitting) of birds following intra-articular injection of sodium urate crystals. Ten sham-operated and 10 decerebrate birds were injected with sodium urate into the left ankle joint 4 days after surgery, and their behaviour recorded during a 3-h period. Both groups of birds showed pain-coping behaviour, and there was no significant difference between the 2 groups of birds. These results suggest that the behaviours associated with tonic arthritic pain are organised in the brainstem.