Identification of discrete sites of action of chronic treatment with desipramine in a model of neuropathic pain

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are an important analgesic treatment for neuropathic pain, though the neural substrates mediating these effects are poorly understood. We have used an integrative approach combining behavioural pharmacology with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the effects of chronic treatment with the TCA desipramine, on touch-evoked pain (mechanical allodynia) and brain regional activity in the selective spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model of neuropathic pain.