Abstract
Gabapentin reduces behavioral signs of stimulus-evoked allodynia and hyperalgesia in preclinical studies of traumatic nerve injury, but its effects on more clinically relevant measures of stimulus-independent pain are unclear. To address this gap, we determined whether gabapentin would relieve affective pain after spared nerve injury (SNI). Twelve days after sham or SNI surgery, we administered gabapentin over three consecutive conditioning days and then evaluated conditioned place preference. Gabapentin produced conditioned place preference and reversed mechanical hypersensitivity in SNI but not sham rats at a dose (100 mg/kg) that did not change open-field activity. These results show for the first time that gabapentin provides relief from affective pain without producing sedation, and add to the limited clinical literature suggesting that its use can be extended to treat pain arising from traumatic nerve injury.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.0000000000000382
Funding Information
The authors thank Emily Denehy for her support in housing the animals and scheduling the use of the CPP equipment, Justin Yates for his guidance with using the CPP equipment, Renee Donahue for her assistance with scheduling and protocol writing, Karin High for allowing the use of her activity boxes, and Tracy Butler for critical reading of the manuscript. This study was funded by grants R01NS062306 and R01NS045954 to B.K.T. and T32NS077889 and F31NS083292 to R.B.G.
Repository Citation
Griggs, Ryan B.; Bardo, Michael T.; and Taylor, Bradley K., "Gabapentin alleviates affective pain after traumatic nerve injury" (2015). Psychology Faculty Publications. 248.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_facpub/248
Notes/Citation Information
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.