Intranasal oxytocin alleviates postsurgical pain and comorbid anxiety in mice: Participation of BK(Ca) channels in the hippocampus.

The affective dimension in postsurgical pain is still poorly understood. Since neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in a broad spectrum of pain and negative emotion, we investigated the potential therapeutic effect of intranasal OXT on postsurgical pain and associated anxiety in a mice model of plantar incision. The role of large conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channels was explored by using behavioral pharmacology experiments.