Hyperalgesic effect of emotional stress in mice of strains C57BL/6J and CBA/CaLac: Interaction with circadian rhythm-related effects

Abstract

We studied emotional stress-induced modulations of the pain reaction evoked in mice of strains С57BL/6J and СВА/CaLac by subcutaneous injections of formalin; the measurements were performed at midtimes of a "dark" and a "light" phase of the pre-set fixed circadian rhythm. The magnitude of the pain reaction was estimated indirectly, according to characteristics of locomotion of the animal in a running wheel (the velocity of locomotion and the distance covered were considered values inversely correlating with the intensity of the pain response). We found that the intensity of the pain reaction within both phases of the circadian rhythm increased under the influence of stress, and that there were significant differences between the emotional stress-modulated intensities of the pain response observed in the examined genetic strains of mice.