Electrical stimulation of the insular cortex as a novel target for the relief of refractory pain: An experimental approach in rodents.

Electrical stimulation of the insular cortex as a novel target for the relief of refractory pain: An experimental approach in rodents. Behav Brain Res. 2017 Nov 27;: Authors: Dimov LF, Toniolo EF, Alonso-Matielo H, de Andrade DC, Garcia-Larrea L, Ballester G, Teixeira MJ, Dale CS Abstract Cortical electrical stimulation (CES) has shown to be an effective therapeutic alternative for neuropathic pain refractory to pharmacological treatment. The primary motor cortex(M1) was the main cortical target used in the vast majority of both invasive and non-invasive studies. Despite positive results M1-based approaches still fail to relieve pain in a significant proportion of individuals. It has been advocated that the direct stimulation of cortical areas directly implicated in the central integration of pain could increase the efficacy of analgesic brain stimulation. Here, we evaluated the behavioral effects of electrical stimulation of the insular cortex (ESI) on pain sensitivity in an experimental rat model of peripheral neuropathy, and have described the pathways involved. Animals underwent chronic constriction of the sciatic nerve in the right hind limb and had concentric electrodes implanted in the posterior dysranular insular cortex. Mechanical nociception responses were evaluated before and at the end of a 15-min session of ESI (60Hz, 210μs, 1V). ESI reversed mechanical hypersensitivity in the paw contralateral to the brain hemisphere s...
Source: Behavioural Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research