A study of neuronal and glial changes in the rostral ventromedial medulla in an animal model of neuropathic pain.

Abstract

Nerve injury can trigger chronic neuropathic pain (Devor, 2006). Previous studies have reported neuronal apoptosis in the spinal cord and cerebral cortex following nerve injury (Sugimoto et al., 1990; Whiteside and Munglani, 2001; Scholz et al., 2005; Fuccio et al., 2009). Because the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) is a crucial site for both descending inhibition and facilitation of nociceptive transmission, we examined whether spinal nerve ligation (SNL) induced cell loss in this region.