Noxious Heat Withdrawal Latency
Objective: Assessment of thermal sensitivity using withdrawal latencies to noxious heat in rats following spinal nerve ligation and exercise intervention
This is a Noxious Heat Withdrawal Latency protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 7 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 2 materials. Extracted from a 2011 paper published in Anesthesiology.
Model and subjects
rat • Sprague-Dawley • male • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
~5 week study window | ~23 hours hands-on
Core workflow
Baseline measurements • Spinal nerve ligation surgery • Randomization to treatment groups
Primary readouts
- Paw withdrawal latency to noxious heat
- Paw withdrawal threshold to von Frey filaments
- Opioid peptide levels (densitometry measurements)
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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Protocol Steps
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Baseline measurements
Obtain baseline thermal and tactile sensitivity measurements prior to surgical intervention
Note: Baseline data collected before nerve ligation
View evidence from paper
“After baseline measurements, the L5 and L6 spinal nerves of male Sprague-Dawley rats were tightly ligated”
Spinal nerve ligation surgery
Tightly ligate the L5 and L6 spinal nerves in male Sprague-Dawley rats
Note: Surgical procedure to induce neuropathic pain model
View evidence from paper
“the L5 and L6 spinal nerves of male Sprague-Dawley rats were tightly ligated”
Randomization to treatment groups
Randomize animals to either sedentary or 5-week treadmill exercise-trained groups
Note: Two experimental groups: sedentary control and exercise-trained
View evidence from paper
“Animals were randomized to sedentary or 5-week treadmill exercise-trained groups”
Thermal sensitivity assessment
Measure withdrawal latencies to noxious heat stimuli
Note: Testing conducted 23 hours post-exercise to assess thermal sensitivity
View evidence from paper
“Thermal and tactile sensitivities were assessed 23 hours after exercise, using paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments and withdrawal latencies to noxious heat”
Tactile sensitivity assessment
Measure paw withdrawal thresholds using von Frey filaments
Note: Concurrent with thermal sensitivity testing
View evidence from paper
“Thermal and tactile sensitivities were assessed 23 hours after exercise, using paw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filaments”
Opioid receptor antagonist administration
Administer opioid receptor antagonists via subcutaneous, intrathecal, or intracerebroventricular injection
Note: Multiple routes of administration tested
View evidence from paper
“Opioid receptor antagonists were administered by subcutaneous, intrathecal, or intracerebroventricular injection”
Opioid peptide quantification
Quantify opioid peptides using immunohistochemistry with densitometry analysis
Note: Tissue analysis to measure endogenous opioid peptide levels
View evidence from paper
“Opioid peptides were quantified using immunohistochemistry with densitometry”