Influence of peripheral nerve injury on response properties of locus coeruleus neurons and coeruleospinal antinociception in the rat

Noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) is involved in pain regulation. We studied whether response properties of LC neurons or coeruleospinal antinociception are changed 10–14 days following development of experimental neuropathy. Experiments were performed in spinal nerve–ligated, sham-operated and unoperated male rats under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia. Recordings of LC neurons indicated that responses evoked by noxious somatic stimulation were enhanced in nerve-injured animals, while the effects of nerve injury on spontaneous activity or the response to noxious visceral stimulation were not significant. Microinjection of glutamate into the central nucleus of the amygdala produced a dose-related inhibition of the discharge rate of LC neurons in nerve-injured animals but no significant effect on discharge rates in control groups. Assessment of the heat-induced hind limb withdrawal latency indicated that spinal antinociception induced by electrical stimulation of the LC was significantly weaker in nerve-injured than control animals. The results indicate that peripheral neuropathy induces bidirectional changes in coeruleospinal inhibition of pain. Increased responses of LC neurons to noxious somatic stimulation are likely to promote feedback inhibition of neuropathic hypersensitivity, while the enhanced inhibition of the LC from the amygdala is likely to suppress noradrenergic pain inhibition and promote neuropathic pain. It is proposed that the decreased spinal antinociception induced by direct stimulation of the LC may be explained by pronociceptive changes in the non-noradrenergic systems previously described in peripheral neuropathy. Furthermore, we propose the hypothesis that emotions processed by the amygdala enhance pain due to increased inhibition of the LC in peripheral neuropathy.