Center for Advanced Pain Studies, Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15217, USA.
Biomed Eng Online. 2021 Mar 25;20(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s12938-021-00870-y.
The regulation and control of pressure stimuli is useful for many studies of pain and nociception especially those in the visceral pain field. In many in vivo experiments, distinct air and liquid stimuli at varying pressures are delivered to hollow organs such as the bladder, vagina, and colon. These stimuli are coupled with behavioral, molecular, or physiological read-outs of the response to the stimulus. Care must be taken to deliver precise timed stimuli during experimentation. For example, stimuli signals can be used online to precisely time-lock the stimulus with a physiological output. Such precision requires the development of specialized hardware to control the stimulus (e.g., air) while providing a precise read-out of pressure and stimulus signal markers.
In this study, we designed a timed pressure regulator [termed visceral pressure stimulator (VPS)] to control air flow, measure pressure (in mmHg), and send stimuli markers to online software. The device was built using a simple circuit and primarily off-the-shelf parts. A separate custom inline analog-to-digital pressure converter was used to validate the real pressure output of the VPS.
Using commercial physiological software (Spike2, CED), we were able to measure mouse bladder pressure continuously during delivery of unique air stimulus trials in a mouse while simultaneously recording an electromyogram (EMG) of the overlying abdominal muscles.
This device will be useful for those who need to (1) deliver distinct pressure stimuli while (2) measuring the pressure in real-time and (3) monitoring stimulus on-off using physiological software.
压力刺激的调节和控制对于疼痛和伤害感受的许多研究非常有用，尤其是在内脏疼痛领域。在许多体内实验中，会向膀胱、阴道和结肠等中空器官施加不同压力的空气和液体刺激。这些刺激与行为、分子或生理反应的输出相结合，以响应刺激。在实验过程中必须小心地施加精确定时的刺激。例如，刺激信号可在线用于精确地将刺激与生理输出进行时间锁定。这种精度需要开发专门的硬件来控制刺激（例如空气），同时提供压力和刺激信号标记的精确读数。
在这项研究中，我们设计了一个定时压力调节器[称为内脏压力刺激器（VPS）]，用于控制气流、测量压力（mmHg）并向在线软件发送刺激标记。该设备使用简单的电路和主要的现成部件构建而成。单独的定制在线模拟数字压力转换器用于验证 VPS 的实际压力输出。
使用商业生理软件（Spike2，CED），我们能够在向小鼠施加独特的空气刺激试验的同时，连续测量小鼠膀胱压力，同时记录腹部上方肌肉的肌电图（EMG）。
对于那些需要（1）施加不同的压力刺激，（2）实时测量压力，以及（3）使用生理软件监测刺激的开/关的人来说，这个设备将非常有用。
