The neuropeptide galanin is known to have an antinociceptive effect under neuropathic conditions. After axotomy, galanin is upregulated in sensory neurons, presumably in the capsaicin-sensitive ones. Here, the sensitivity to capsaicin and the expression of galanin were simultaneously examined by double-staining in individual, dissociated rat dorsal root ganglion neurons (1) after axotomy of the sciatic nerve for up to 14 days and (2) in culture for up to 4 days without prior nerve injury. Ten days after axotomy, the proportion of capsaicin-sensitive neurons had decreased by 36 percentage points (from 63% to 27%), whereas the proportion of galaninergic neurons had increased by 33 percentage points (from 3% to 36%). These changes were also observed in neurons kept in culture, where the regulation was attenuated by the addition of nerve growth factor (NGF) or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) to the medium. After axotomy, galaninergic neurons had a soma size-distribution profile similar to the capsaicin-sensitive neurons, but there was no colocalization of capsaicin sensitivity and galanin expression in individual neurons. In culture, some neurons showed colocalization after 30 h and 48 h, but not after 6 h or 96 h. We conclude that the upregulation of galanin in an individual neuron is preceded by downregulation of its capsaicin sensitivity both in NGF-dependent peptidergic and in GDNF-dependent non-peptidergic neurons, indicating a change in phenotype.