MAPK activation in response to patterned action potentials. Activation of the ERK1 (p44) and ERK2 (p42) MAPK was determined in DRG neurons after eliciting a total of 540 impulses at 10 Hz in 1.8, 3.6, 5.4, and 9 sec bursts separated by 1, 2, 3, and 5 min intervals, respectively. The Western immunoblotting analysis was performed for activated MAPK after normalizing for total ERK1 by quantitative immunoblotting.