Fig. 6: Chemogenetic silencing of the spontaneous pain-tagged neuronal ensemble of PL promotes overall recovery from chronic inflammatory pain. | Nature Communications

Fig. 6: Chemogenetic silencing of the spontaneous pain-tagged neuronal ensemble of PL promotes overall recovery from chronic inflammatory pain.

From: A distinct neuronal ensemble of prelimbic cortex mediates spontaneous pain in rats with peripheral inflammation

Fig. 6

a Diagram showing the timeline of behavioral tests. b Representative images of hM4Di-EGFP expression in the PL. PL spontaneous pain neurons were inhibited following administration of CNO. Scale bar, 200 μm. Three slices from each rat, n = 3 rats. ## p < 0.01 for RAM-CFA vs. RAM-Sham, ***p < 0.01 and **p < 0.01 for RAM-CFA vs. vector-CFA, two-sided unpaired t-test. c Temporary inhibition of PL spontaneous pain neurons alleviated spontaneous paw lifting behaviors on CFA 3 day. n = 9 rats. *p < 0.05, two-sided paired t-test. d Continuous CNO delivery (in CFA 3–7 d) relieved spontaneous paw lifting behaviors on CFA 7 day. n = 9 rats. ###p < 0.001 for RAM-CFA vs. RAM-Sham, *p < 0.05 for RAM-CFA vs. vector-CFA, two-sided unpaired t-test. e Experimental design for conditioned place preference (CPP). f Inhibition of PL spontaneous pain neurons induced preference to the paired chamber in CFA. n = 7 rats in RAM-CFA group, n = 8 rats in RAM-Sham and vector-CFA groups. Left, time spent in paired and unpaired chamber, *p < 0.05, two-sided paired t-test. Middle, CPP scores, *p < 0.05, two-sided one sample t-test. Right, representative locomotor tracks. Temporary inhibition of PL spontaneous pain neurons alleviated thermal hyperalgesia (g) and mechanical allodynia (h) on CFA 3 d. Dash line, baseline pain threshold. n = 9 rats. **p < 0.01, two-sided paired t-test. Continuous CNO delivery (in CFA 3–7 d) increased thermal (i) and mechanical pain thresholds (j) on CFA 7 d, and accelerated the recovery from thermal hyperalgesia (k) and mechanical allodynia (l) in inflammatory pain. n = 9 rats. ##p < 0.01 for RAM-CFA vs. RAM-Sham, *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001 for RAM-CFA vs. vector-CFA, two-sided unpaired t-test for (i, j). ##p < 0.01, ###p < 0.001 for RAM-CFA-injected vs. RAM-Sham-CFA-injected; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 for RAM-CFA-injected vs. vector-CFA-injected, two-way repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni’s post hoc test for (k, l). Data for D, F, I, K, J and L were presented as mean ± SEM. Data for C, D F-L were provided as a Source Data file.

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