Effect of Electrical Stimulation of Peripheral Nerve on Pain Reaction

말초신경자극이 동통반응에 미치는 영향

Experiments were conducted in ischemic decerebrate cats to study the effects of electroacupuncture and electrical stimulation of peripheral nerve on pain reaction. Flexion reflex was used as an index of pain. The reflex was elicited by stimulating the sural nerve(20 V, 0.5 msec duration) and recorded as a compound action potential from the nerve innervated to the semitendinosus muscle. Electroacupuncture was performed, using a 23-gauge hyperdermic needle, on the tsusanli point in the lateral upper tibia of the ipsilateral hindlimb. The common peroneal nerve was selected as a peripheral nerve which may be associated with electroacupuncture action, as it runs through the tissue portion under the tsusanli point. Both for electroacupuncture and the stimulation of common peroneal nerve a stimulus of 20 V-intensity, 2 msec-duration and 2 Hz-frequency was applied for 60 min. The results are summerized as follows: 1) The electroacupuncture markedly depressed the flexion reflex; this effect was eliminated by systemic application of naloxone $(0.02{\sim}0.12\;mg/kg)$, a specific narcotic antagonist. 2) Similarly, the electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve significantly depressed the flexion reflex, the effect being reversed by naloxone. 3) When most of the afferent nerves excluding sural nerve in the ipsilateral hindlimb were cut, the effect of electroacupuncture on the flexion reflex was not observed. Whereas direct stimulation of the common peroneal nerve at the proximal end from the cut resulted in a significant reduction of the flexion reflex, again the effect was reversible by naloxone application. 4) Transection of the spinal cord at the thoracic 12 did not eliminate the effect of peripheral nerve stimulation on the flexion reflex and its reversal by naloxone, although the effect was significantly less than that in the animal with spinal cord intact. These results suggest that: 1) the analgesic effect of an electroacupuncture is directly mediated by the nervous system and involves morphine-like substances in CNS, 2) the site of analgesic action of electroacupuncture resides mainly in the brainstem and in part in the spinal cord.