Kenshalo D R, Leonard R B, Chung J M, Willis W D
Marine Biomedical Institute, and Departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Anatomy. University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Tex. 77550 U.S.A.
Pain. 1982 Feb;12(2):141-152. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(82)90190-7.
Spinothalamic tract cells in anesthetized monkeys were found to respond to noxious cold stimuli (18/19 cells tested), as well as to noxious heat and noxious mechanical stimuli. Responses to repetition of the noxious cold stimuli after a series of noxious heat stimuli were enhanced. However, subtraction of the enhanced background activity that resulted from damage of the skin revealed that the enhanced response to noxious cold stimuli were due to superposition of the original responses upon an enhanced background activity, rather than to sensitization of the responses to noxious cold stimuli per se. Furthermore, the responses to innocuous mechanical stimuli applied either within the area that was damaged or outside this area were enhanced, provided the noxious heat was applied for a long enough time. Thus, damage to a region of skin can result in enhanced responsiveness of spinothalamic cells to stimuli applied in an undamaged region of the receptive field. The possible relationship between these observations and cutaneous hyperalgesia is discussed.
研究发现，麻醉猴的脊髓丘脑束细胞对有害冷刺激（测试的19个细胞中有18个）有反应，对有害热刺激和有害机械刺激也有反应。在一系列有害热刺激后重复施加有害冷刺激时，反应增强。然而，减去因皮肤损伤导致的增强背景活动后发现，对有害冷刺激的增强反应是由于原始反应叠加在增强的背景活动之上，而非有害冷刺激反应本身的敏化。此外，只要有害热刺激施加足够长的时间，在受损区域内或该区域外施加的无害机械刺激的反应都会增强。因此，皮肤某一区域的损伤可导致脊髓丘脑细胞对在感受野未受损区域施加的刺激反应增强。本文讨论了这些观察结果与皮肤痛觉过敏之间可能的关系。
