Shetter A G, Sweet W H
J Neurosurg. 1979 Jul;51(1):12-7. doi: 10.3171/jns.1979.51.1.0012.
Electrical stimulation of dental pulp is widely acknowledged to produce a sensation that is predominantly or exclusively noxious in character. The authors report the pattern of local cerebral glucose utilization evoked by dental-pulp stimulation in the barbiturate-anesthetized rat, using the [14C]2-deoxyglucose method of Sokoloff. Autoradiographs were prepared from cryostat-cut brain sections of animals given an intravenous pulse of [14C]2-deoxyglucose and sacrificed after 45 minutes of continuous bipolar stimulation of the incisor tooth pulp. Areas of high optical density on the autoradiographs identified brain regions where glucose consumption, and hence functional activity, was maximal. Stimulus-related increases in glucose utilization were seen ipsilaterally in an uninterrupted column from the lower levels of trigeminal nucleus caudalis to the rostral extent of the main sensory nucleus. Mandibular incisor pulp stimulation yielded increased deoxyglucose uptake in relatively restricted dorsal portions of the nuclei, while maxillary pulp stimulation produced a more extensive area of uptake ventrally. Elevated deoxyglucose uptake was also seen in the contralateral ventrobasal thalamus and sensory cortex with maxillary, but not mandibular, pulp stimulation. No changes in metabolic activity were detected in extralemniscal or limbic structures. These initial results suggest that the [14C]2-deoxyglucose method may be a useful means of mapping central structures involved in nociception.
牙髓的电刺激被广泛认为会产生一种主要或完全具有伤害性特征的感觉。作者使用索科洛夫的[14C]2-脱氧葡萄糖方法，报告了在巴比妥麻醉的大鼠中牙髓刺激所诱发的局部脑葡萄糖利用模式。对给予静脉注射[14C]2-脱氧葡萄糖脉冲并在对切牙牙髓进行45分钟连续双极刺激后处死的动物，从低温恒温器切割的脑切片制备放射自显影片。放射自显影片上光密度高的区域确定了葡萄糖消耗以及功能活动最大的脑区。在从三叉神经尾侧核较低水平到主要感觉核头端范围的不间断柱状区域中，同侧可见与刺激相关的葡萄糖利用增加。下颌切牙牙髓刺激在相对局限的核背侧部分使脱氧葡萄糖摄取增加，而上颌牙髓刺激在腹侧产生更广泛的摄取区域。在上颌牙髓刺激而非下颌牙髓刺激时，对侧腹后丘脑和感觉皮层也可见脱氧葡萄糖摄取增加。在外侧丘系或边缘结构中未检测到代谢活动的变化。这些初步结果表明，[14C]2-脱氧葡萄糖方法可能是绘制参与伤害感受的中枢结构的有用手段。
