Secure cranial-mount intrathecal cannulation - a spinal administration technique in the rat

In order to identify an acute spinally mediated pharmacological effect of a bioactive substance, without incurring untoward supraspinal effects, it is necessary to administer the agent locally onto the spinal cord. The proced ure delineated herein presents a modern technique to install a stable, perm anent indwelling thecal cannulae with a cranially mounted aperture, and det ails a simple, repeatable administration system. These methods facilitate a quick, noninvasive spinal drug microadministration that is most useful for differentiation of the locus of pharmacological action without the behavio ral disruption associated with other administration methodologies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.