CUTANEOUS BLOOD-FLOW INCREASES IN THE RAT HINDPAW DURING DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATION

The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal stimulation sit e and parameters that result in the greatest changes in cutaneous bloo d flow during dorsal column stimulation (DCS). Laser Doppler flowmetry was used to assess cutaneous blood flow changes in both rat hindpaws during DCS with a unipolar ball electrode. We found that stimulating t he dorsal column at the L(2) spinal segment at 0.6 mA at either 25 or 50 Hz with a pulse duration of 0.2 ms resulted in the largest cutaneou s blood flow increases in the rat hindpaw. In addition, the DCS respon se appeared to be limited primarily to the hindpaw ipsilateral to the site of DCS.