Abstract: Although there are a number of shortcomings with these animal models, they provide important clues in understanding the underlying pathophysiology of neuropathic pain in humans. In these models, cutaneous sensory threshold of the hindlimb ipsilateral to nerve injury is measured. The presence of neuropathic pain in experimental animal models is mainly measured as allodynia or hyperalgesia, in which the normally nonnoxious or mildly noxious stimuli induce a nociceptive behavioral response. This paper mainly discusses the recent findings from the peripheral nerve injury model of neuropathic pain, as well as the different characteristics of these animal models of neuropathic pain.

Key words: neuropathic pain, dorsal root ganglia, animal model, sciatic nerve