Intrathecal injection of GSK-3β inhibitor analytical reagent (AR)-A014418 prevents STM deficits in SNI rats but induces persistent mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in sham rats. (a) The experiment designs are shown. (b) and (c) The injection of AR-A014418 (400 ng/kg, 20 μl) did not affect the decrease in PWT and PWL induced by SNI but induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in sham rats. n = 5–6 in each group, ***p < 0.001, compared with Vehi + Sham group (repeated measures two-way ANOVA). (d) In the same cohort of rats, AR-A014418 prevented the decrease in recognition index of STM induced by SNI but had no effect on sham rats. **p < 0.01 compared with Vehi + Sham group, ###p < 0.001 vs. Vehi + SNI (t-test). (e) Representative photographs showing the Evans blue distribution (blue) in cerebrospinal fluid around spinal cord and brain (whole view, upper left), the ventral brain (bottom view, right), hippocampus, and the third ventricle (coronal view, left below) at 5 h after intrathecal injection (1%, 30 μl). SNI: spared nerve injury; BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; OD: optical density.