Hiroki Okada1, Motoko Honda1,2 and Hideki Ono1,2,*
1Laboratory of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Science University of Tokyo, 12 Ichigaya-Funagawara-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0826, Japan
2Laboratory of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-dori, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
*Corresponding author. Present address for correspondence (affiliation #2): FAX: +81-52-836-3676, E-mail: hiono@phar.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
Abstract: Mice were used to record the spinal reflex potentials and to examine the effects of some drugs upon them. In anesthetized mice, laminectomy was performed in the lumbo-sacral region, and monosynaptic reflex potential (MSR) and polysynaptic reflex potential were recorded from the L5 ventral root after stimulation of the L5 dorsal root. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and 1-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane hydrochloride (DOI) produced transient and long-lasting increases in the MSR amplitude, respectively. Tolperisone hydrochloride and baclofen produced transient and long-lasting MSR depressions, respectively. These results show that mice can be used to record spinal reflex potentials, and that it may be possible to study the spinal cord function of mutant and knockout mice using this method.
Keywords: Spinal reflex, Monosynaptic reflex
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