Assessing pain threshold in the rat: Changes with estrus and time of day

Martı́nez–Gómez, Margarita; Cruz, Yolanda; Salas, Manuel; Hudson, Robyn; Pacheco, Pablo

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(94)90040-x

Cited by 163 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Nociceptive threshold was significantly higher in sham females tested during diestrus than in those tested during estrus. Previous studies also have demonstrated significant changes in nociceptive thresholds across the estrous cycle in rats: the stages at which threshold was highest were proestrus (Kepler et al, 1989;Molina et al, 1990), diestrus-2/proestrus (Martinez-Gomez et al, 1994), and diestrus-2 (Frye et al, 1993) using tailflick tests, and diestrus-1/diestrus-2 in paw and tail pressure tests (Kayser et al, 1996), and in hotplate and tail withdrawal tests (Craft and Bernal, 2001). Thus, there is some consistency among the present and previous studies in terms of which estrous stages females tend to be most and least sensitive to nociceptive stimuli, although there are some reports of no significant differences in nociceptive threshold among female rodents in different estrous stages (e.g.…”

Section: Effects Of Gonadal Steroid Fluctuations In Intact (Cycling) mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…It has been suggested that changes in basal nociception may be produced by ovarian steroid-dependent fluctuations in endogenous opioid levels (Romano et al, 1989;Dawson-Basoa and Gintzler, 1993;Aloisi et al, 1995). However, there are a number of studies reporting no significant change in basal nociception following ovariectomy (Beatty and Beatty, 1970;Nomikos et al, 1987;Martinez-Gomez et al, 1994;Ali et al, 1995;Cicero et al, 1996;Krzanowska and Bodnar, 1999). Systematic study will be required to determine how potentially relevant variables such as gonadectomy-test interval, steroid replacement regimen, subject genotype, and parameters of the pain test influence basal nociception in female rodents.…”

Section: Effects Of Gonadal Steroid Manipulations In Femalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In GDX female rats, E2 replacement returned nociceptive sensitivity to that of gonadally intact controls (Forman et al, 1989;Pednekar and Mulgaonker, 1995). In contrast, numerous studies reported no difference in nociceptive threshold between GDX rats compared to their sham-operated controls (Beatty and Beatty, 1970;Nomikos et al, 1987;Kepler et al, 1989;Martinez-Gomez et al, 1994;Ali et al, 1995;Cicero et al, 1996). Gonadal steroid modulation of pain also appears to occur in human subjects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Gonadal steroid hormone modulation of nociception, morphine antinociception and reproductive indices in male and female rats

Stoffel

Ulibarri

Craft

2003

Pain

167

137

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The purpose of this study was to examine how gonadal steroid hormones modulate basal nociception and morphine antinociception relative to regulating reproduction in the adult rat. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were either gonadectomized (GDX) or sham-gonadectomized (sham); GDX males were implanted subcutaneously with capsules containing testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), E2 and DHT, or nothing (0). GDX females received E2, T, or empty (0) capsules immediately after surgery, and vehicle or progesterone (P4) injections at 4-day intervals. Basal nociception and morphine antinociception were tested 28 days after surgery on 50°C and 54°C hotplate tests, and reproductive behavior and physiology were assessed shortly thereafter. There were no significant differences in baseline hotplate latencies among the male treatment groups, but morphine was significantly more potent in sham and GDX + T males than in GDX + 0 males. The ability of T to increase morphine's potency was approximated by its major metabolites E2 and DHT, given together but not alone. Baseline hotplate latencies were higher in sham females tested during diestrus than in those tested during estrus. Morphine was significantly more potent in sham females tested during proestrus and diestrus than in those tested during estrus. Baseline hotplate latencies were significantly higher, and morphine was significantly less potent in GDX + E2, GDX + E2/P4 and GDX + T females than in GDX + 0 females. All group differences in basal nociception and morphine antinociception observed on the 50°C hotplate test were smaller and generally nonsignificant on the 54°C hotplate test. Steroid manipulations produced the expected changes in reproductive behaviors and steroid-sensitive organs. These results demonstrate that in adult rats, gonadal steroid manipulations that are physiologically relevant, modulate (1) basal nociception in females but not males, and (2) morphine's antinociceptive potency in both males and females.

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Section: Effects Of Gonadal Steroid Fluctuations In Intact (Cycling) mentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Effects Of Gonadal Steroid Manipulations In Femalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gonadal steroid hormone modulation of nociception, morphine antinociception and reproductive indices in male and female rats

Stoffel

Ulibarri

Craft

2003

Pain

167

137

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although there are several reports that cutaneous nociceptive thresholds do not change significantly throughout the estrous cycle in rodents (Aloisi et al, 1994;Vinogradova et al, 2003;Borta and Schwarting, 2005;Terner et al, 2005;Devall et al, 2009), many earlier studies did detect cycle-related differences (Frye et al, 1992;Kayser et al, 1996;Martínez-Gómez et al, 1994;Mogil et al, 2000;You et al, 2006). The underlying reason for these inconsistent findings is not clear but may relate to strain differences and/or to differences in the extent to which the testing methodology engaged endogenous descending control systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Differential Activation of the Periaqueductal Gray by Mild Anxiogenic Stress at Different Stages of the Estrous Cycle in Female Rats

Devall¹,

Lovick²

2010

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The effect of acute exposure to mild anxiogenic stress on cutaneous nociceptive threshold was investigated in female Wistar rats at different stages of the estrous cycle. Baseline tail flick latencies did not change significantly during the cycle. However after brief exposure to vibration stress (4 Hz for 5 min), rats in late diestrus, but not at other cycle stages, developed a hyperalgesia (decrease in tail flick latency). Animals in late diestrus revealed a more than fivefold increase in the density of Fos-like immunoreactive nuclei in the dorsolateral, lateral, and ventrolateral columns in the caudal half of the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG). There was no change in the density of Fos-like immunoreactive nuclei in the PAG in rats in estrus and early diestrus, although rats in proestrus showed a smaller (50%) but significant increase. Rats undergoing withdrawal from a progesterone dosing regimen (5 mg/kg i.p. twice daily for 6 days) designed to mimic the fall in progesterone that occurs naturally during late diestrus, exhibited a stress-induced hyperalgesia that was similar to animals in late diestrus and a significant increase in Fos-positive cells in the PAG. We suggest that falling levels of progesterone during late diestrus may be a predisposing factor for the development of stress-induced hyperalgesia, which is linked to differential activation of descending pain control circuits in the PAG. Similar changes in women, when progesterone levels fall during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, may contribute to the development of premenstrual symptoms that include increased anxiety and hyperalgesia.

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“…The estrous cycle is a physiological process modulated by hormonal changes associated with alterations in the attraction or sensitivity with which females perceive different sensory stimuli [1,2]. Perception of sensory stimuli, especially those of an olfactory and somatosensory nature [1,2], anxiety levels [3], the willingness of cycling female rats to show maternal behavior [4], pain thresholds [5] and the excitability and electrical activity of several brain structures [2,6,7] are known to vary across the estrous cycle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prefrontal and Accumbal Electric Activity during Auditory Stimulation in Virgin Female Rats: Changes Related to the Estrous Cycle

Hernández‐González¹,

Abascal²,

Guevara³

et al. 2013

JBBS

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The estrous cycle is a physiological process modulated by hormonal changes associated, in turn, with alterations of the attraction or sensitivity with which females perceive different sensory stimuli. Auditory stimuli play an important role in the social interaction of several mammals, including their sexual behavior and the mother-young relationship. Since the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (Acc) had been associated with the processing and assignation of the incentive value of stimuli, this study was designed to analyze whether electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the PFC and Acc was modified during the two antagonist phases of the estrous cycle (proestrus-estrus and diestrus) when female rats heard sound recordings with different types of cries emitted by other rats. EEGs were recorded in eight female virgin Wistar rats, 80 -100 days old, bilaterally implanted in the PFC and Acc during an awake-quiet state, in three conditions: when hearing 1) cries of pups; 2) cries of adult male rats; and, 3) cries of adult female rats. The cries were recorded from pups (2 -10 days old) and male and female adult rats after gentle prodding by a human hand. Each auditory stimulus (which included vocalizations up to 22 kHz) was randomly played back through a speaker placed near the female rats. Only upon perceiving the cries of male rats did the females in the proestrus-estrous phase show a lower relative power in the 14 -30 Hz band in the Acc and an increased inter-prefrontal correlation in the 8 -13 Hz band. It is probable that these EEG changes are associated with the lower activation or non-anxious state that the female rat presents specifically during the proestrus-estrous phase in response to the alarm cries of adult male rats.

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Assessing pain threshold in the rat: Changes with estrus and time of day

Cited by 163 publications

References 34 publications

Gonadal steroid hormone modulation of nociception, morphine antinociception and reproductive indices in male and female rats

Gonadal steroid hormone modulation of nociception, morphine antinociception and reproductive indices in male and female rats

Differential Activation of the Periaqueductal Gray by Mild Anxiogenic Stress at Different Stages of the Estrous Cycle in Female Rats

Prefrontal and Accumbal Electric Activity during Auditory Stimulation in Virgin Female Rats: Changes Related to the Estrous Cycle

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