Journal
NEUROPHYSIOLOGIE CLINIQUE-CLINICAL NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
Volume 33, Issue 6, Pages 269-277Publisher
ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2003.10.003
Keywords
laser; A-fiber nociceptor; C-fiber nociceptor; laser evoked potentials; reaction times
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This review presents and discusses the leading arguments justifying the use of high power laser stimulators to explore the nociceptive system. To grasp the particularity of such stimulators, fundamentals concerning the interaction of low-energy radiation with the skin will be recalled and focused on the optimal match between the wavelength of the emitting source and the thermophysical properties of the skin. This knowledge shall allow us to discuss critical characteristics of laser stimulators. Study of the cutaneous spectrum of receptors showed that laser stimulators allow the selective activation of Apartial derivative-and C-fiber nociceptors. We will present different methods, which increase the selectivity of the laser stimulation, restricting the activation to isolated C-fiber nociceptors. These methods open new perspectives in the study of the cerebral processing of signals ascending through Apartial derivative and/or C nociceptors and should contribute to a better understanding of their central interaction and integration in normal and pathological states. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.
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