The goal is to gain further understanding of the spinothalamic tract, one of the principle pathways conveying information about painful stimuli to the brain. The cells of origin and thalamic terminations of the dorsal spinothalamic tract (DSTT), which travels in the dorsolateral quadrant of the spinal cord, will be determined in monkeys and cats, and compared to the origins and terminations of the classical ventral spinothalamic tract (VSTT), which travels in the ventrolateral quadrant of the spinal cord. Retrograde and anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase and flourescent tracers will be used to anatomically map the locations of the cells of origin and terminations of these two separate pathways. In addition, recordings will be made from the lateral sensory thalamus in anesthetized cats and monkeys, and the relative contributions of the VSTT and the DSTT to the responses of these units elicited by cutaneous stimulation will be determined by transiently blocking transmission through either the dorsolateral or the ventrolateral quadrant of the spinal cord. The DSTT has only recently been discovered and is likely one of the major nociceptive specific inputs to the thalamus. Consequently gaining a better understanding of this system will allow new insights into the processing of painful stimuli. The adequate treatment of both acute and chronic pain states in humans clearly depends on indepth knowledge about the pathways that carry information concerning peripheral painful stimuli from the spinal cord to the thalamus.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01NS022891-01A1
Application #
3405667
Study Section
Neurological Sciences Subcommittee 1 (NLS)
Project Start
1986-12-01
Project End
1989-11-30
Budget Start
1986-12-01
Budget End
1987-11-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Upstate Medical University
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
058889106
City
Syracuse
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
13210
Gingold, S I; Greenspan, J D; Apkarian, A V (1991) Anatomic evidence of nociceptive inputs to primary somatosensory cortex: relationship between spinothalamic terminals and thalamocortical cells in squirrel monkeys. J Comp Neurol 308:467-90
Martin, R J; Apkarian, A V; Hodge Jr, C J (1990) Ventrolateral and dorsolateral ascending spinal cord pathway influence on thalamic nociception in cat. J Neurophysiol 64:1400-12
Hodge Jr, C J; Apkarian, A V (1990) The spinothalamic tract. Crit Rev Neurobiol 5:363-97
Apkarian, A V; Hodge Jr, C J; Martin, R J et al. (1989) A cryogenic device for reversibly blocking transmission through small regions of the spinal cord white matter. J Neurosci Methods 29:93-106
Stevens, R T; Hodge Jr, C J; Apkarian, A V (1989) Medial, intralaminar, and lateral terminations of lumbar spinothalamic tract neurons: a fluorescent double-label study. Somatosens Mot Res 6:285-308
Apkarian, A V; Hodge, C J (1989) A dorsolateral spinothalamic tract in macaque monkey. Pain 37:323-33