Deconstruction of a spino-brain-spinal cord circuit that drives chronic pain - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #neural circuit
- #chronic pain
- #neuropathic pain
- Chronic pain can result from tissue inflammation or peripheral nerve injury.
- The study identifies a spino-brain-spinal cord circuit loop involving spinal cord, thalamus, somatosensory cortex, superior colliculus, and rostral ventromedial medulla (RVMSC) neurons.
- Silencing any node in this circuit eliminates mechanical hypersensitization in mouse models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain.
- Repetitive activation of circuit nodes induces chronic mechanical hypersensitization in healthy mice.
- The circuit links ascending and descending pathways, specifically driving chronic mechanical pain.
- These findings could lead to new cellular targets for treating chronic pain.