Am. Aloisi et al., Gonadectomy and persistent pain differently affect hippocampal c-Fos expression in male and female rats, NEUROSCI L, 281(1), 2000, pp. 29-32
Hippocampal c-Fos expression was studied in male and female rats after gona
dectomy and persistent pain. Three weeks after surgery, animals were sham-
or formalin-injected (50 mu l, 10%) and placed in a familiar testing appara
tus. The formalin-evoked licking, flexing and jerking of the injected paw w
ere recorded for 60 min, c-Fos was determined in the dorsal and ventral hip
pocampus: dentate gyrus (DG), CA1 and CA3. Gonadectomy induced higher c-Fos
in the dorsal DG of both sexes, in all ventral subfields of males and in t
he ventral CA3 of females. In normal males a nd females, formalin increased
c-Fos in the dorsal DG and in the male ventral subfields. In gonadectomize
d ones formalin decreased or did not change c-Fos. Gonadectomy induced long
er flexing in males and females. These data indicate an important and sex-d
ependent interaction between gonadal hormones, nociceptive input and neuron
al activity in the hippocampus. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All
rights reserved.