Assessment of canine sensory function by using sine-wave electrical stimuli paradigm

作者：Watabiki Tomonari; Nagakura Yukinori^*; Wegner Kirsten; Kakimoto Shuichiro; Tozier Nicolle A; Malkmus Shelle A; Yaksh Tony L

来源：Physiology & Behavior, 2010, 101(3): 327-330.

DOI：10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.05.019

• Transcutaneous electrical stimulation
• Sine-wave
• Current threshold
• Dog
• Fentanyl
• Neurometer
• Sensory function
• Pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics
• Non-invasive

The paradigm of sine-wave electrical stimuli has been used for sensory neurological assessment in humans. In the present study, we applied the paradigm to the dog for the quantitative assessment of sensory function. Sine-wave electrical current stimuli at frequencies of 2000, 250, and 5 Hz were delivered to bipolar electrodes attached to the skin surface of the hind paws. The stimulation intensity was gradually increased, and the minimum intensity required to elicit the lifting behavior in the stimulated paw was determined as current threshold (CT) for each of the three frequencies. Dogs consistently showed the lifting behavior at CTs without showing aversive behaviors such as vocalization and wriggling. The baseline CTs (mean +/- SEM, n = 12) were 4430 +/- 110 mu A for CT2000, 2215 +/- 173 mu A for CT250, and 2305 +/- 152 mu A for CT5. The CTs immediately increased after bolus intravenous injection of fentanyl at 10 mu g/kg, although the significant increase disappeared within 1 h. The time course for the as was parallel to that of plasma fentanyl concentration. In conclusion, the present study applied the paradigm of transcutaneous sine-wave electrical stimuli to the dog, and used the hind paw lifting as endpoint behavior. This paradigm is simple, non-invasive, useful in the assessment of sensory function, and can be adapted to investigate the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics relation of drugs. Further studies are needed to give the conclusive interpretation of the endpoint behavior.

• 出版日期2010-10-5