Stimulation Of Receptive Field Research Articles

Dependence of Contextual Modulation in Macaque V1 on Interlaminar Signal Flow.

In visual cortex, neural correlates of subjective perception can be generated by modulation of activity from beyond the classical receptive field (CRF). In macaque V1, activity generated by nonclassical receptive field (nCRF) stimulation involves different intracortical circuitry than activity generated by CRF stimulation, suggesting that interactions between neurons across V1 layers differ under CRF and nCRF stimulus conditions. Using Neuropixels probes, we measured border ownership modulation within large, local populations of V1 neurons. We found that neurons in single columns preferred the same side of objects located outside of the CRF. In addition, we found that cross-correlations between pairs of neurons situated across feedback/horizontal and input layers differed between CRF and nCRF stimulation. Furthermore, independent of the comparison with CRF stimulation, we observed that the magnitude of border ownership modulation increased with the proportion of information flow from feedback/horizontal layers to input layers. These results demonstrate that the flow of signals between layers covaries with the degree to which neurons integrate information from beyond the CRF.

Benzalkonium chloride, a common ophthalmic preservative, compromises rat corneal cold sensitive nerve activity

PurposeCorneal nerves comprise the densest sensory network in the body. Dysfunction of the corneal cold sensitive neurons (CSN) is implicated in ophthalmic disorders, including Dry Eye Disease, the most common ocular surface disorder. The preservative Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) and the mydriatic agent Phenylephrine hydrochloride (PHE) are considered to be inactive at the level of the CSNs. The purpose of this study is to test the impacts of continuous exposures to BAK or PHE at their clinically used concentrations on corneal nerve structure and function. MethodsIn vivo extracellular electrophysiology of the rat trigeminal ganglion was used to monitor CSN functional response to stimuli mimicking physiological states and stressors of the cornea. Corneal nerve structure was evaluated by immunostaining. ResultsAmong the tested stimuli, cold probe receptive field stimulation and hyperosmolar stress were the most sensitive methods of detecting activity changes. CSN activity was attenuated after 30 min exposure to either PHE or BAK. After an hour-long washout period, BAK-treated neurons failed to recover activity while PHE-treated neurons showed signs of functional recovery. Intraepithelial nerve density was reduced and nerve fragmentation was increased in BAK-treated corneas, while PHE exposure left corneal nerves structurally intact. ConclusionsOur study suggests that prolonged ocular instillations of BAK or PHE alter CSN activity through two different processes — irreversible neuronal damage in the case of BAK vs. reversible attenuation in the case of PHE.

Altered Cortical Trigeminal Fields Excitability by Spreading Depolarization Revealed with in Vivo Functional Ultrasound Imaging Combined with Electrophysiology.

Spreading depolarization, usually termed cortical spreading depression has been proposed as the pathophysiological substrate of migraine aura and as an endogenous trigger of headache pain. The links between neurovascular coupling and cortical craniofacial nociceptive activities modulated by SD were assessed by combining in vivo local field potential (LFP) recordings in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) with functional ultrasound imaging of S1 and caudal insular (INS) cortices of anesthetized male rats. A single SD wave triggered in the primary visual cortex elicited an ipsilateral, quadriphasic hemodynamic and electrophysiological response in S1 with an early phase consisting of concomitant increases of relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and LFPs. A transient hypoperfusion was then correlated with the beginning of the neuronal silence, followed by a strong increase of rCBV, whereas synaptic activities remained inhibited.LFPs and rCBV recovery period was followed by a progressive increase in S1 and INS baseline activities and facilitation of cortical responses evoked by periorbital cutaneous receptive field stimulation. Sensitization of cortical ophthalmic fields by SD was bilateral, occurred with precise spatiotemporal profiles, and was significantly reduced by pretreatment with an NMDA antagonist. Combined high-resolution assessing of neurovascular coupling and electrophysiological activities has revealed a useful preclinical tool for deciphering central sensitization mechanisms involved in migraine attacks.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A crucial unsolved issue is whether visual aura and migraine headache are parallel or sequential processes. Here, we show that a single spreading depolarization wave triggered from the primary visual cortex is powerful enough to elicit progressive, sustained increases of hemodynamic and sensory responses to percutaneous periorbital noxious stimuli recorded in S1 and insular ophthalmic fields. Sensitization of cortical ophthalmic fields by SD was bilateral, occurred with precise spatiotemporal profiles, and was significantly reduced by pretreatment with an NMDA antagonist. Combined high-resolution assessing of neurovascular coupling and electrophysiological activities has revealed a useful preclinical tool for deciphering central sensitization mechanisms involved in migraine attacks.

Population receptive fields of human primary visual cortex organised as DC-balanced bandpass filters

The response to visual stimulation of population receptive fields (pRF) in the human visual cortex has been modelled with a Difference of Gaussians model, yet many aspects of their organisation remain poorly understood. Here, we examined the mathematical basis and signal-processing properties of this model and argue that the DC-balanced Difference of Gaussians (DoG) holds a number of advantages over a DC-biased DoG. Through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) pRF mapping, we compared performance of DC-balanced and DC-biased models in human primary visual cortex and found that when model complexity is taken into account, the DC-balanced model is preferred. Finally, we present evidence indicating that the BOLD signal DC offset contains information related to the processing of visual stimuli. Taken together, the results indicate that V1 pRFs are at least frequently organised in the exact constellation that allows them to function as bandpass filters, which makes the separation of stimulus contrast and luminance possible. We further speculate that if the DoG models stimulus contrast, the DC offset may reflect stimulus luminance. These findings suggest that it may be possible to separate contrast and luminance processing in fMRI experiments and this could lead to new insights on the haemodynamic response.

Dynamic Perception Framework for Fine-Grained Recognition

Fine-grained recognition poses the challenge of discriminating categories with only small subtle visual differences, which can be easily overwhelmed by diverse appearance within categories. Conventional approaches generally locate discriminative parts and then recognize the part-based features. However, we find that tuning the effective receptive field (ERF) of the network to the task plays the key role, which enables significant regions to contribute more to the output. Inspired by the receptive field stimulation mechanism of the visual cortex, we propose a Dynamic Perception framework as a solution. Our framework adapts the ERF by considering the image space and the kernel space simultaneously. In the image space, the Spatial Selective Sampling module is adopted to enlarge informative regions locally. In the kernel space, Spatial Selective Kernel convolution is introduced to adapt different kernel sizes for regions of interest and backgrounds by embedding spatial attention in the multi-path convolution. Extensive experiments on challenging benchmarks, including CUB-200-2011, FGVC-Aircraft, and Stanford Cars, demonstrate that our method yields a performance boost over the state-of-the-art methods.

Residual contrast response in primary visual cortex of rats with inherited retinal degeneration

Rhodopsin S334ter-3 retinal degeneration rats have been widely used to investigate degenerative diseases of the retina. In this model, morphological and electrophysiological changes have been observed in the retina, superior colliculus and primary visual cortex (V1). However, no study so far has examined rhodopsin S334ter-3 rats with regards to their contrast response in V1 — a fundamental property of visual information processing. In this study, experimental rats (S334ter-3) carried one copy of the mutant transgene. We compared responses to spatio-temporal variations in luminance contrast in the primary visual cortex of these rats with those in Long-Evans (LE) rats to elucidate the degeneration-specific activity changes in this part of the visual pathway. We measured extracellular responses to different stimulus contrasts at the preferred parameters of each recorded cell under classical receptive field (CRF) stimulation. Our results show that V1 cells in the S334ter-3 group exhibit stronger spontaneous activity but weaker stimulus-evoked responses at medium and high contrasts. By fitting responses to a sigmoid function, we found that the S334ter-3 group had a lower Rmax but a larger exponent N than the LE group. However, we did not find a significant difference in C50 value. These results indicate the decrease in discriminating the stimuli contrast and loss in responses and lower signal to noise ratio after retinal degeneration. Our study supports the notion that a considerable degree of plasticity is found in cortex after retinal degeneration, indicating that visual restoration therapies would succeed if the retina could send useful signals to the brain.

Effect of electrical stimulation of receptive fields in people with lower limb amputation on variables of gait

People with amputation may perceive phantom limb sensations or pain in the amputated body part when ipsilateral body-regions are stimulated. These body-regions are called receptive fields. This study assessed whether receptive fields change in size and position over the course of one month in people with trans-tibial amputation and whether electrical stimulation of these fields in synchrony with walking affects phantom sensations and variables of gait. Thirty-one subjects participated in this study. Receptive fields were mapped seven times over a one month period. Thereafter, the effect of electrical stimulation in synchrony with walking was compared to placebo stimulation in an acute setting with a randomized, single-blind gait analysis in 18 participants. Results showed that receptive field size and position presented an adequate degree of consistency (difference in point of first response position of 4.9±4.8cm and overlap of total receptive field area of 54.3±35.0 %) for future use of electrical stimulation. Gait parameters for everyday activities (speed, gait width, % stance and swing phase) as well as perception of phantom pain were not altered to a clinically relevant degree by electrical stimulation and no negative effects were reported. In conclusion: Location and size of receptive fields are consistent enough for daily electrical stimulation without laborious daily assessment. If applied acutely, no significant effect on gait or pain could be detected. However, results are promising enough to test chronic application of electrical stimulation during gait in a long-term setting.

Variation in Spontaneous Activity and Visual Evoked Response in Primary Visual Cortex of the S334ter-3 Rats

S334ter-3 retinal degeneration (RD) rats have been widely used to investigate degenerative diseases of the retina. In this model, morphological and electrophysiological changes have been observed in the retina, superior colliculus and primary visual cortex (V1). In this study, experimental rats (S334ter-3) carried one copy of the mutant transgene. We measured the extracellular responses in the primary visual cortex to three stimulus contrast levels (spontaneous activity, medium contrast, and high contrast) at the preferred parameters of each recorded cell under classical receptive field (CRF) stimulation. Then we compared the responses (spontaneous activity and the visual evoked responses) in RD rats with those in wildtype rats. Our results show that V1 cells in the RD group exhibit stronger spontaneous activity but weaker stimulus-evoked responses at medium and high contrasts. At the same time, compared with WT group, RD group also showed a narrow dynamic range. These results indicate the decrease in discriminating the stimuli contrast and loss in responses and lower signal to noise ratio after retina degeneration.

Application of the center–surround mechanism to contour detection

Physiological studies have revealed that the center–surround mechanism widely exists in the primary stages of the human visual system, such as the retina, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and primary visual cortex (V1). In retina ganglion cells (RGC) and the LGN, the mechanism is well known to have two types: center “on” and center “off.” However, this mechanism in V1 is shown as classical receptive field (CRF) stimulation and surrounding non-CRF suppression. Although these two manifestations differ in function and appear in different areas of the visual pathway, from the perspective of computational simulation, they simply compute the differences between the center and its surrounding information. In the past decade, many bio-inspired computational models have demonstrated that the center–surround mechanism is good at extracting salient contours while suppressing textures. Based on this mechanism, we propose a method for extracting local center–surround contrast information from nature images by using a normalized difference of Gaussian (DoG) function and a sigmoid activated function. Compared with previous contour detection models (especially bio-motivated ones), the proposed method can efficiently suppress textures more quickly and accurately. More importantly, the proposed algorithm yields even better contour detection, yet the computational complexity is similar to the classical Canny operator.

Optimal delineation of single C-tactile and C-nociceptive afferents in humans by latency slowing.

C-mechanoreceptors in humans comprise a population of unmyelinated afferents exhibiting a wide range of mechanical sensitivities. C-mechanoreceptors are putatively divided into those signaling gentle touch (C-tactile afferents, CTs) and nociception (C-mechanosensitive nociceptors, CMs), giving rise to positive and negative affect, respectively. We sought to distinguish, compare, and contrast the properties of a population of human C-mechanoreceptors to see how fundamental the divisions between these putative subpopulations are. We used microneurography to record from individual afferents in humans and applied electrical and mechanical stimulation to their receptive fields. We show that C-mechanoreceptors can be distinguished unequivocally into two putative populations, comprising CTs and CMs, by electrically evoked spike latency changes (slowing). After both natural mechanical stimulation and repetitive electrical stimulation there was markedly less latency slowing in CTs compared with CMs. Electrical receptive field stimulation, which bypasses the receptor end organ, was most effective in classifying C-mechanoreceptors, as responses to mechanical receptive field stimulation overlapped somewhat, which may lead to misclassification. Furthermore, we report a subclass of low-threshold CM responding to gentle mechanical stimulation and a potential subclass of CT afferent displaying burst firing. We show that substantial differences exist in the mechanisms governing axonal conduction between CTs and CMs. We provide clear electrophysiological "signatures" (extent of latency slowing) that can be used in unequivocally identifying populations of C-mechanoreceptors in single-unit and multiunit microneurography studies and in translational animal research into affective touch. Additionally, these differential mechanisms may be pharmacologically targetable for separate modulation of positive and negative affective touch information.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Human skin encodes a plethora of touch interactions, and affective tactile information is primarily signaled by slowly conducting C-mechanoreceptive afferents. We show that electrical stimulation of low-threshold C-tactile afferents produces markedly different patterns of activity compared with high-threshold C-mechanoreceptive nociceptors, although the populations overlap in their responses to mechanical stimulation. This fundamental distinction demonstrates a divergence in affective touch signaling from the first stage of sensory processing, having implications for the processing of interpersonal touch.

Differences in electrophysiological properties of functionally identified nociceptive sensory neurons in an animal model of cancer-induced bone pain.

BackgroundBone cancer pain is often severe, yet little is known about mechanisms generating this type of chronic pain. While previous studies have identified functional alterations in peripheral sensory neurons that correlate with bone tumours, none has provided direct evidence correlating behavioural nociceptive responses with properties of sensory neurons in an intact bone cancer model.ResultsIn a rat model of prostate cancer-induced bone pain, we confirmed tactile hypersensitivity using the von Frey test. Subsequently, we recorded intracellularly from dorsal root ganglion neurons in vivo in anesthetized animals. Neurons remained connected to their peripheral receptive terminals and were classified on the basis of action potential properties, responses to dorsal root stimulation, and to mechanical stimulation of the respective peripheral receptive fields. Neurons included C-, Aδ-, and Aβ-fibre nociceptors, identified by their expression of substance P. We suggest that bone tumour may induce phenotypic changes in peripheral nociceptors and that these could contribute to bone cancer pain.ConclusionsThis work represents a significant technical and conceptual advance in the study of peripheral nociceptor functions in the development of cancer-induced bone pain. This is the first study to report that changes in sensitivity and excitability of dorsal root ganglion primary afferents directly correspond to mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia behaviours following prostate cancer cell injection into the femur of rats. Furthermore, our unique combination of techniques has allowed us to follow, in a single neuron, mechanical pain-related behaviours, electrophysiological changes in action potential properties, and dorsal root substance P expression. These data provide a more complete understanding of this unique pain state at the cellular level that may allow for future development of mechanism-based treatments for cancer-induced bone pain.

Periaqueductal gray calcitonin gene-related peptide modulates trigeminovascular neurons.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonism is an approach to migraine therapy. The locus of action of antimigraine treatment is not resolved. The objective was to investigate CGRP receptors in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) involved in the modulation of trigeminovascular nociception by descending influences on neurotransmission. The presence of calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) and receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1), which form functional CGRP receptors, was investigated. CGRP and its receptor antagonists, olcegepant and CGRP (8-37), were microinjected into the vlPAG while changes of neural responses in the trigeminocervical complex (TCC) were monitored. Immunoreactivity indicated the presence of functional CGRP receptor components in the vlPAG and adjacent mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus. Inhibition of TCC responses to stimulation of dural afferents and ophthalmic cutaneous receptive fields after microinjection of bicuculline into vlPAG indicated a connection between the vlPAG and TCC neurons. CGRP facilitated these TCC responses, whereas olcegepant and CGRP (8-37) decreased them. CGRP and its receptor antagonists act on neurons in the region of vlPAG to influence nociceptive transmission in the TCC. This suggests CGRP receptor antagonists may act at loci outside of the TCC and reinforces the concept of migraine as a disorder of the brain.

Different forms of locomotion in the spinal lamprey

Forward locomotion has been extensively studied in different vertebrate animals, and the principal role of spinal mechanisms in the generation of this form of locomotion has been demonstrated. Vertebrate animals, however, are capable of other forms of locomotion, such as backward walking and swimming, sideward walking, and crawling. Do the spinal mechanisms play a principal role in the generation of these forms of locomotion? We addressed this question in lampreys, which are capable of five different forms of locomotion - fast forward swimming, slow forward swimming, backward swimming, forward crawling, and backward crawling. To induce locomotion in lampreys spinalised at the second gill level, we used either electrical stimulation of the spinal cord at different rostrocaudal levels, or tactile stimulation of specific cutaneous receptive fields from which a given form of locomotion could be evoked in intact lampreys. We found that any of the five forms of locomotion could be evoked in the spinal lamprey by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, and some of them by tactile stimulation. These results suggest that spinal mechanisms in the lamprey, in the absence of phasic supraspinal commands, are capable of generating the basic pattern for all five forms of locomotion observed in intact lampreys. In spinal lampreys, the direction of swimming did not depend on the site of spinal cord stimulation, but on the stimulation strength. The direction of crawling strongly depended on the body configuration. The spinal structures presumably activated by spinal cord stimulation and causing different forms of locomotion are discussed.

Functional interactions between the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus and raphe magnus. A comparative study of an integrated homeostatic analgesic mechanism

This work compares the effects of electrical stimulation of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) and the raphe magnus nucleus (RMg) on the single-unit response from dorsal spinal cord neurons activated by nociceptive receptive field stimulation. We evaluated the effects of stimulating the PVN or RMg individually or simultaneously, as well as PVN stimulation after RMg electrolytic lesion. PVN or RMg stimulation suppressed the A-delta, C fiber, and postdischarge, and we demonstrated that their simultaneous stimulation increases the duration and intensity of suppressive effects. RMg lesion increased the peripheral responses, but PVN stimulation continued to be suppressive. The intrathecal administration of 20 μl of a 10−5 M solution of a specific oxytocin antagonist strongly reduced the PVN effects, and 20 μl of 10−6 M naloxone significantly reduced the RMg suppression of receptive field responses. Some spinal cord cells presented a short-latency, evoked action potential (6.8 ms and a variability of ±0.5 ms) produced by the RMg stimulation. This is interpreted as a direct postsynaptic action of the RMg on the spinal cord cells. We never found similar responses produced by the PVN, and therefore, we propose that the PVN effects are presynaptic. Finally, the immunohistochemical experiments confirmed the oxytocinergic and the vasopresinergic innervation used by the PVN projection to the RMg, and they raise the possibility that other neurotransmitters are involved. We conclude that the PVN and the RMg form part of a homeostatic analgesic mechanism acting on the same spinal cord cells to block the noxious information, but using different mechanisms. Both structures, and others, contribute to the homeostatic mechanism of endogenous analgesia.

Excitability of Aβ sensory neurons is altered in an animal model of peripheral neuropathy

BackgroundCauses of neuropathic pain following nerve injury remain unclear, limiting the development of mechanism-based therapeutic approaches. Animal models have provided some directions, but little is known about the specific sensory neurons that undergo changes in such a way as to induce and maintain activation of sensory pain pathways. Our previous studies implicated changes in the Aβ, normally non-nociceptive neurons in activating spinal nociceptive neurons in a cuff-induced animal model of neuropathic pain and the present study was directed specifically at determining any change in excitability of these neurons. Thus, the present study aimed at recording intracellularly from Aβ-fiber dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and determining excitability of the peripheral receptive field, of the cell body and of the dorsal roots.MethodsA peripheral neuropathy was induced in Sprague Dawley rats by inserting two thin polyethylene cuffs around the right sciatic nerve. All animals were confirmed to exhibit tactile hypersensitivity to von Frey filaments three weeks later, before the acute electrophysiological experiments. Under stable intracellular recording conditions neurons were classified functionally on the basis of their response to natural activation of their peripheral receptive field. In addition, conduction velocity of the dorsal roots, configuration of the action potential and rate of adaptation to stimulation were also criteria for classification. Excitability was measured as the threshold to activation of the peripheral receptive field, the response to intracellular injection of depolarizing current into the soma and the response to electrical stimulation of the dorsal roots.ResultsIn control animals mechanical thresholds of all neurons were within normal ranges. Aβ DRG neurons in neuropathic rats demonstrated a mean mechanical threshold to receptive field stimulation that were significantly lower than in control rats, a prolonged discharge following this stimulation, a decreased activation threshold and a greater response to depolarizing current injection into the soma, as well as a longer refractory interval and delayed response to paired pulse electrical stimulation of the dorsal roots.ConclusionsThe present study has demonstrated changes in functionally classified Aβ low threshold and high threshold DRG neurons in a nerve intact animal model of peripheral neuropathy that demonstrates nociceptive responses to normally innocuous cutaneous stimuli, much the same as is observed in humans with neuropathic pain. We demonstrate further that the peripheral receptive fields of these neurons are more excitable, as are the somata. However, the dorsal roots exhibit a decrease in excitability. Thus, if these neurons participate in neuropathic pain this differential change in excitability may have implications in the peripheral drive that induces central sensitization, at least in animal models of peripheral neuropathic pain, and Aβ sensory neurons may thus contribute to allodynia and spontaneous pain following peripheral nerve injury in humans.

Intrinsic membrane properties of spinal dorsal horn neurones modulate nociceptive information processingin vivo

The dorsal horn of the spinal cord is the first central relay where nociceptive inputs are processed. Based on the expression and modulation of intrinsic electrophysiological properties in in vitro slice preparations, dorsal horn neurones (DHNs) display different discharge patterns (tonic, plateau or rhythmic), which shape the neurone's response to sensory inputs. However, it is unclear whether intrinsic properties play any role in sensory processing in vivo. Using in vivo patch clamp recordings in the adult rat, we here examine whether these intrinsic properties are present, and to what extent they determine the DHN response to natural stimulation. We focused primarily on wide dynamic range neurones in deep laminae. These cells displayed a multicomponent peripheral receptive field, comprising an excitatory firing zone, a low-probability firing fringe, and adjacent inhibitory zones. Deep DHNs presented similar intrinsic properties to those observed in vitro, including plateau potentials. These plateaus, underlying high frequency accelerating discharges and after-discharges, were triggered by mechanical stimulation of the excitatory receptive field. Persistent activities induced by activation of plateau potentials were interrupted by stimulation of peripheral inhibitory zones. Moreover, we show that plateau activation is necessary for the expression of windup in response to repetitive, nociceptive stimulation. Finally, using the spinal nerve ligation model of neuropathy, we demonstrate a significant increase in the proportion of plateau neurones in deep dorsal laminae. Our data, therefore, establish that intrinsic amplification properties are expressed within intact spinal circuits and suggest their involvement in neuropathy-induced hyperexcitability of deep DHNs.

Surround modulation of neuronal responses in V1 is as stable over time as responses to direct stimulation of receptive fields

In the primary visual cortex (V1) the modulation of neuronal responses by surround stimuli displays considerable variability. At present, it is not known whether this variability across neurons is due to temporal instability or to neuron-specific differences. We explored this question in the cat visual cortex by making multi-channel recordings while repeatedly presenting surround gratings of collinear and orthogonal orientation to the centre stimulus for a period of 96 h. Our results indicate that surround modulation is temporally stable to about the same degree as the responses evoked by the centre stimuli. The results support the notion that the mechanisms of surround modulation exhibit a high degree of stability and play an important role in the modulation of cortical responses.

Behavioral relevance influences LGN neurons of macaque monkey in the absence of receptive field stimulation

Behavioral relevance influences LGN neurons of macaque monkey in the absence of receptive field stimulation

Synaptic and Network Mechanisms of Sparse and Reliable Visual Cortical Activity during Nonclassical Receptive Field Stimulation

During natural vision, the entire visual field is stimulated by images rich in spatiotemporal structure. Although many visual system studies restrict stimuli to the classical receptive field (CRF), it is known that costimulation of the CRF and the surrounding nonclassical receptive field (nCRF) increases neuronal response sparseness. The cellular and network mechanisms underlying increased response sparseness remain largely unexplored. Here we show that combined CRF + nCRF stimulation increases the sparseness, reliability, and precision of spiking and membrane potential responses in classical regular spiking (RS(C)) pyramidal neurons of cat primary visual cortex. Conversely, fast-spiking interneurons exhibit increased activity and decreased selectivity during CRF + nCRF stimulation. The increased sparseness and reliability of RS(C) neuron spiking is associated with increased inhibitory barrages and narrower visually evoked synaptic potentials. Our experimental observations were replicated with a simple computational model, suggesting that network interactions among neuronal subtypes ultimately sharpen recurrent excitation, producing specific and reliable visual responses.

Peripheral and central sensitization in remote spinal cord regions contribute to central neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

Central neuropathic pain (CNP) developing after spinal cord injury (SCI) is described by the region affected: above-level, at-level and below-level pain occurs in dermatomes rostral, at/near, or below the SCI level, respectively. People with SCI and rodent models of SCI develop above-level pain characterized by mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Mechanisms underlying this pain are unknown and the goals of this study were to elucidate components contributing to the generation of above-level CNP. Following a thoracic (T10) contusion, forelimb nociceptors had enhanced spontaneous activity and were sensitized to mechanical and thermal stimulation of the forepaws 35days post-injury. Cervical dorsal horn neurons showed enhanced responses to non-noxious and noxious mechanical stimulation as well as thermal stimulation of receptive fields. Immunostaining dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells and cord segments with activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3, a marker for neuronal injury) ruled out neuronal damage as a cause for above-level sensitization since few C8 DRG cells expressed AFT3 and cervical cord segments had few to no ATF3-labeled cells. Finally, activated microglia and astrocytes were present in thoracic and cervical cord at 35days post-SCI, indicating a rostral spread of glial activation from the injury site. Based on these data, we conclude that peripheral and central sensitization as well as reactive glia in the uninjured cervical cord contribute to CNP. We hypothesize that reactive glia in the cervical cord release pro-inflammatory substances which drive chronic CNP. Thus a complex cascade of events spanning many cord segments underlies above-level CNP.