C-Fos-like immunoreactivity in the upper cervical spinal dorsal horn neurons following noxious chemical stimulation of the nasal mucosa in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats.

Noxious chemical stimulation of the rat nasal mucosa with mustard oil induces the expression of Fos-like immunoreactivity in trigeminal and other brain stem neurons which contribute to upper airway protective reflexes such as sneezing, coughing and apnea. To examine the role of nociceptive processing in the upper cervical spinal cord, we investigated the Fos-like immunoreactivity of the brainstem and upper cervical spinal cord following the injection of mustard oil (10 microl of 10%) into the nasal mucosa of pentobarbital anesthetized rats. Two hours after the application of mustard oil, numerous Fos-immunoreactive neurons were found in the mediolateral end of the C1 and dorsolateral division of the C2. The mean numbers of the Fos-immunoreactive neurons in the laminae I and II of the ipsilateral first and second spinal segments were significantly greater than in the control (vehicle treated) rats. There were no significant differences in the mean number of Fos-immunoreactive neurons in the contralateral C1 between the mustard oil and vehicle-treated rats. These results suggest that the C1-C2 dorsal horn neurons process the nociceptive information from nasal mucosa as well as other areas innervated by the trigeminal nerves, and that ethmoidal nerves may contribute to the exclusive conveyance of nociceptive information.