Electrical stimulation (stim), as brief as 1 hour, was found to enhance sensory neuron axonal regeneration. Stim for longer periods was less effective (Geremia et al., 2001 SfN Abstr 535.14). The beneficial effect of stim involves retrograde influences on the neuronal cell body, as TTX abolishes this response. The present study evaluates the effect of stim on the cell body response by evaluating its impact on expression of regeneration-associated genes (RAG). Using the femoral nerve model of transection and repair, the femoral nerve was stimulated proximal to repair at 20 Hz for 0 hour (sham), 1 hour or 3 hours. After a 2 day regeneration period, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry were performed on L3 DRG sections to detect changes in RAG mRNA expression (GAP-43 and Tα1 tubulin), BDNF, and trkB. Stim for 1 hour resulted in an upregulation of RAG, BDNF, and trkB when compared to sham. Stim for 3 hours resulted in decreased RAG and trkB expression, but increased BDNF-IR when compared to sham and ...