Excitatory amino acid receptors and nociceptive neurotransmission in rat spinal cord

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Abstract
A), quisqualate (Quis), (RS)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid HBr (AMPA), and kainate (KA). NMDA and Quis or AMPA activated primarily nociceptive neurons (60% of these neurons were projection neurons) in the rat spinal cord. KA-activated neurons were primarily classified as low threshold neurons. Both NMDA and AMPA, at subthreshold doses, significantly increased neuronal responses to peripheral noxious mechanical stimulation; NMDA also significantly increased neuronal responses to peripheral noxious thermal stimulation. Iontophoretically applied phencyclidine (PCP) decreased NMDA-induced firing in 100% of the cells tested while Quis-induced firing was blocked by PCP in only 33% of the cells tested. The reported analgesic effects of PCP in humans may result from a spinal action involving its well documented interaction with NMDA receptors. ∗Correspondence to: Dr. L.M. Aanonsen, Biology Department, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, U.S.A. Submitted August 9, 1989; revised January 4, 1990; accepted January 10, 1990. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers....

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