Effect of 30 minutes SCS or sham stimulation on the intensity of the AFI signal and area of excitation in response to sciatic nerve electrical stimulation, in rats with partial ligation of the proximal sciatic nerve (Seltzer model).

<p>(A,D) Images of background fluorescence of the dorsal surface of the spinal cord at T13 of a sham (A) and SCS treated rat (D). (B,E) Area of excitation (yellow) on the ipsilateral side, directly after sham stimulation (B); after SCS, in this rat, there is no area exceeding the predefined ΔF/F level (E). (C) Time course of the intensity of the AFI signal after SCS or sham stimulation (T = 0 min), as a percentage of ΔF/F before treatment (T = -30 min), in 20×20 pixel square selections on the ipsilateral side at the L4-L6 spinal level. (F) Mean areas of excitation on the ipsilateral side directly after SCS or sham stimulation (T = 0 min), as a percentage of the areas before treatment (T = -30 min). Scale bar, 1 mm; Grayscale bar ranging from −0.75% (black) to +0.75% (white) of the 16-bit range; Error bars indicate SEM; *<i>p</i><0.05; paired <i>t</i>-tests; <i>n</i> = 7 SCS, <i>n</i> = 6 sham stimulation.</p

Mean intensity of the AFI signal (A) and area of excitation (B) following nociceptive electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve, in naïve versus neuropathic rats (Seltzer model), on the ipsilateral (i) and contralateral (c) side of the nerve injury and nerve stimulation.

<p>Error bars indicate SEM; <i>n</i> = 20 naïve rats, <i>n</i> = 13 neuropathic rats.</p

Behavioral data of rats that underwent partial ligation of the proximal sciatic nerve (Seltzer model).

<p>(A) Combined results of the von Frey withdrawal thresholds and hotplate latencies, at baseline and 10, 12 and 14 days after nerve ligation, from al 18 rats in the study, demonstrating tactile and thermal hyperalgesia. Error bars indicate SEM. <i>p</i><0.01; repeated measures ANOVAs, source of variation timepoint; ***<i>p</i><0.01; pairwise comparisons of day 0 versus day 10, 12 and 14, using Bonferroni correction. (B,C) Von Frey withdrawal thresholds (B) and hotplate latencies (C) from 7 neuropathic rats that subsequently underwent SCS and 6 neuropathic rats that subsequently underwent sham stimulation, demonstrating a similar degree of tactile and thermal hyperalgesia in both groups. Error bars indicate SEM. <i>p</i>>0.06; repeated measures ANOVAs, source of variation treatment.</p