Mother as shield: Differential effects of contact and nursing on pain responsivity in infant rats: Evidence for nonopioid mediation.

Blass, Elliott M.; Shide, David J.; Zaw-Mon, Chris; Sorrentino, James V.

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.109.2.342

Cited by 90 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Sucrose produces pain-reducing effects in human newborns (13). Nonnutritive suckling also induces analgesia (7). These studies suggest that there is an interaction between the gustatory and orotactile afferent inputs and pain-modulating circuits in the brain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The thermal test consisted of very lightly touching the rat's paw with a brass stylus (2.5-3.0 mm diameter) heated to 48ЊC with a variable transformer (7). The latency with which the infant removed its paw from the stylus was determined with a stop-watch.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These opioid-mediated analgesic effects are not due to infusions alone because they are not produced by ingestion of water or lactose (15). In rats, maternal contact and nonnutritive suckling of anesthetized dams that do not release milk also produce analgesia (7). However, this form of analgesia is not opioid-mediated (4).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent behavioral studies demonstrating orogustatory and orotactile-induced analgesia hold considerable potential for the future management of pain in newborns through noninvasive means that engage endogenous analgesic systems (3,4). In particular, calming, analgesia, and (in humans) bradycardia can be induced via sweet (sucrose, fructose, or glucose) or milk stimulation, but not lactose in both rat (5)(6)(7)(8) and human infants (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Suckling and sucrose ingestion suppress persistent hyperalgesia and spinal Fos expression after forepaw inflammation in infant rats

Ren

Blass

Zhou

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sweet taste and nonnutritive suckling produce analgesia to transient noxious stimuli in infant rats and humans. The present study evaluated the pain-modulating effects of sucrose and suckling in a rat model of persistent pain and hyperalgesia that mimics the response to tissue injury in humans. Fore-and hindpaw withdrawal latencies from a 30؇ or 48؇C brass stylus were determined in 10-day-old rats following paw inf lammation induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA; 1:1 injected s.c. in a 0.01 ml volume). CFA markedly decreased escape latencies to both 48؇ and 30؇C stimulation, thereby demonstrating thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. The combination of nonnutritive suckling and sucrose (7.5%, 0.01-0.06 ml͞min) infusion markedly increased escape latencies to forepaw stimulation in both CFA-treated and control rats. In contrast, intraoral sucrose and suckling did not increase hindpaw withdrawal latencies in either control or CFA-inf lamed rats. The effect was specific to sweet taste because neither water nor isotonic saline infusion affected forepaw escape latencies. Parallel findings were obtained for CFA-induced Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI), a marker of neuronal activation. Fos-LI was selectively induced in cervical and lumbar regions ipsilateral to forepaw and hindpaw inf lammation, respectively. Suckling-sucrose treatment significantly reduced Fos-LI at the cervical but not at the lumbar regions. These findings demonstrate: (i) the development of persistent pain and hyperalgesia in 10-day-old rats that can be attenuated by endogenous pain-modulating systems activated by taste and nonnutritive suckling; (ii) the mediation of the sucrose-suckling analgesia and antihyperalgesia at the spinal level; and (iii) a differential rostrocaudal maturation of descending pain-modulating systems to the spinal cord of 10-day-old rats. These findings may provide new clinical approaches for engaging endogenous analgesic mechanisms in infants following tissue injury and inf lammation.Pain is a serious clinical problem in premature, newborn, and young infants that arises from medical or surgical intervention or traumatic injury. Although the commonly held view that infants do not perceive pain has been refuted (1), the fear that anesthetic agents produce respiratory depression, apnea, and hypotension in this population persists, and insufficient pain control remains an important clinical problem following common medical or surgical procedures (2). Recent behavioral studies demonstrating orogustatory and orotactile-induced analgesia hold considerable potential for the future management of pain in newborns through noninvasive means that engage endogenous analgesic systems (3, 4). In particular, calming, analgesia, and (in humans) bradycardia can be induced via sweet (sucrose, fructose, or glucose) or milk stimulation, but not lactose in both rat (5-8) and human infants (9-14).The calming and analgesic effects of orogustatory stimulation appear to be opioid-mediated. Sucrose-and milk-induced calming and a...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Suckling and sucrose ingestion suppress persistent hyperalgesia and spinal Fos expression after forepaw inflammation in infant rats

Ren

Blass

Zhou

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In particular, maternal presence can reduce pain sensitivity in neonatal rats (3) and have long-term consequences in adult offspring (4). In humans, skin-to-skin contact, or kangaroo care, between mother and infant, has been demonstrated to soothe preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) during painful treatments (5,6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial Rearing of Rat Pups Reveals the Beneficial Effects of Mother Care on Neonatal Inflammation and Adult Sensitivity to Pain

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Repeated pain during brain development can have long-term consequences in both humans and animals. We previously showed that maternal care provided to pups experiencing pain reduced adult pain sensitivity. This study tested whether sensory stimulation was responsible for this effect. Rat pups were either mother-reared controls (MR-CON) or artificially reared (AR) with minimal (AR-MIN) or maximal (AR-MAX) stimulation provided daily. In each rearing condition, pups were either uninjected or injected from postnatal day (PND) 4 to 14 with saline (0.9%) or formalin (0.2-0.4%). Pain behavior and paw inflammation were scored. Thermal sensitivity and responses to formalin were tested in adulthood (PND 70). AR neonates, irrespective of sensory stimulation received, exhibited a pain response (p Ͻ 0.001), even with a mild formalin dose. Maternal rearing reduced inflammation during the second week of life compared with AR pups (p Ͻ 0.05). Early pain exposure did not modify adult pain sensitivity. However, rearing altered adult pain sensitivity such that uninjected MR-CON rats had lower pain sensitivities than uninjected AR rats (p Ͻ 0.05). This suggests that the beneficial effects of maternal rearing can be obliterated if additional stimulation/stress occurs during the early neonatal period. In addition, this suggests that optimal level of maternal stimulation exists that determines adult pain sensitivity. (Pediatr Res 66: 272-277, 2009) M aternal care has numerous beneficial effects on attention, emotionality, and stress responsiveness in offspring (1,2). In particular, maternal presence can reduce pain sensitivity in neonatal rats (3) and have long-term consequences in adult offspring (4). In humans, skin-to-skin contact, or kangaroo care, between mother and infant, has been demonstrated to soothe preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) during painful treatments (5,6). Thus, understanding the critical components of maternal care that are comforting is important for managing pain in preterm infants. In rats, maternal care occurs in a repertoire of behaviors including retrieving, licking, grooming, and crouching (7). Natural variations in the amount of licking and grooming provided to pups are a critical component of maternal care affecting development (8,9). In particular, we demonstrated that offspring from high licking and grooming mothers displayed lower thermal pain sensitivity compared with animals from low licking mothers, suggesting that tactile stimulation might be an important component mediating the maternal effect on adult pain sensitivity in rats (4). To examine the role of tactile stimulation on pup development, we used the artificial rearing (AR) paradigm, which allows control over different aspects of maternal stimulation and nest environment (10 -12). Dams lick the body and anogenital region of pups, serving thermoregulatory and excremental functions. In AR, this is mimicked with a paintbrush (11,13,14). Experiments manipulating the amount of tactile stimulation received by offspri...

show abstract

Kangaroo Care Is Effective in Diminishing Pain Response in Preterm Neonates

Johnston¹,

Stevens²,

Pinelli³

et al. 2003

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

263

177

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For preterm neonates who are 32 weeks' postmenstrual age or older, KC seems to effectively decrease pain from heel lancing. Further study is needed to determine if younger neonates or those requiring assistance in breathing, or older infants or toddlers, would benefit from KC, or if it would remain effective over several procedures. Given its effectiveness, and that parents of neonates in critical care units want to participate more in comforting their children, KC is a potentially beneficial strategy for promoting family health.

show abstract

Mother as shield: Differential effects of contact and nursing on pain responsivity in infant rats: Evidence for nonopioid mediation.

Cited by 90 publications

References 33 publications

Suckling and sucrose ingestion suppress persistent hyperalgesia and spinal Fos expression after forepaw inflammation in infant rats

Suckling and sucrose ingestion suppress persistent hyperalgesia and spinal Fos expression after forepaw inflammation in infant rats

Artificial Rearing of Rat Pups Reveals the Beneficial Effects of Mother Care on Neonatal Inflammation and Adult Sensitivity to Pain

Kangaroo Care Is Effective in Diminishing Pain Response in Preterm Neonates

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About