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Behavioral Insights Into Nociceptor Function: A Systematic Approach To Understanding Postsurgical And Neuropathic Pain Mechanisms In Rats, Max Odem

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Postsurgical and neuropathic pain are each clinically common, and often associated with ongoing pain. Ongoing pain has been linked to ongoing activity (OA) in human C-fiber nociceptors. Preclinical studies using rodent neuropathic models have concentrated on allodynia driven by OA generated in non-nociceptive Aβ fibers, but little attention has been paid to postsurgical pain in sham controls or to C-fiber nociceptor OA promoting ongoing pain.

Operant assays that reveal negative motivational and cognitive aspects of voluntary pain-related behavior may be particularly sensitive to pain-related alterations. In the mechanical conflict (MC) test, rodents can freely choose to escape from a brightly …