Automated thermal gradient test for unprovoked assessment of nociceptive preference in rodents.

ABSTRACT: In animal models, reflexive responses to noxious stimuli (e.g., paw withdrawal in von Frey, Hargreaves, or cold plantar tests) are largely spinal reflexes and their quantitative measures (latency or threshold) may not directly reflect clinically relevant pain perception as assessed by human quantitative sensory testing, which captures both conscious sensory and affective components of pain as a subjective experience. This study aims to develop a complementary behavioral testing strategy for rapidly and automatically detecting rodents' thermal responses under different pain conditions without human interference. A device is engineered to create a linear thermal gradient from 4 °C to 58 °C along a long aluminum floor of four equal-size corridors, each having a dimension of 137 cm × 10 cm × 2

SUBMITTER: Deakin T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12714899 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature