Abstract
It has been long observed that weather change is associated with increased complaints of pain, although the exact mechanism for this phenomenon remains unclear. To clarify this issue, we have used a climate-controlled room to examine the effects of exposure to low barometric pressure (27hPa lower than the natural atmospheric pressure) and low ambient temperature (7 °C decrease from 22°C) on the pain-related behaviors of rats rendered monoarthritic or neuropathic. Our results show that low-pressure and low-temperature exposures intensify abnormalities in the pain-related behaviors of these rats. Additionally, sympathetic nervous activity makes an important contribution to the low-pressure effect, while it does not appear to be important for the low-temperature effect. Our recent experiments also demonstrated that inner ear destruction inhibited the low-pressure effect on the neuropathic rats, suggesting a specific organ which senses changes in barometric pressure is located in the inner ear.
