Feedback loop between locus coeruleus and spinal trigeminal nucleus neurons responding to tooth pulp stimulation in the rat.

Studies were performed to elucidate reciprocal relationships between locus coeruleus (LC) and spinal trigeminal nucleus (STN) neurons responding to tooth pulp (TP) stimulation using rats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose. LC conditioning stimulation inhibited STN field potential as well as orthodromic spike generation of STN neurons produced by ipsilateral TP stimulation, confirming the previous findings in cats that LC neurons played an inhibitory role in the orthodromic transmission in STN neurons. Forty-one out of 56 LC neurons were activated by ipsilateral TP stimulation and 12 neurons by stimulation of both ipsi- and contralateral TP. STN stimulation usually excited LC neurons with a significantly shorter latency than did TP stimulation, including three LC neurons with a latency of less than 2.0 msec. These results indicate the existence of input from TP to LC neurons via multisynapses. In addition, neurons antidromically activated by STN stimulation were found in LC. It is highly probable, therefore, that there is a feedback loop between LC and STN, which might control input from TP to STN.