Transmitter release is estimated via intracutaneous or intramuscular microdialysis. The firing of the units is characterized and related to effector responses. In females activities are measured during different phases of the menstrual cycle. Neural control of skin blood flow is studied under different thermal conditions.
Special emphasis is paid to the relationship between nerve traffic and release of transmitters.
Axon reflexes are evoked by electrical skin stimulation and the resulting blood flow increase is measured by scanning laser doppler flowmetry. Attempts are made to use the axon reflex response as a clinical test of the function of unmyelinated afferent nerve fibres. Patients with psoriasis are investigated with regard to a possible axon reflex mechanism contributing to the increased blood flow in the psoriatic skin lesion. Microdialysis in the psoriatic plaque is used to measure release of histamin, CGRP and substance P after surface anaesthesia or local capsaicin application. Autonomic disturbances after cerebral vascular lesions are studied with the aim of identifying CNS-structures involved in central sympathetic regulation and characterizing their functional importance.