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Published on: July 16, 2014
Neuronal plasticity: increasing the gain in pain.
1Neural Plasticity Research Group, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, MGH-East, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. woolf.clifford@mgh.harvard.edu
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 10, 2000
Summary
Pain involves distinct categories like physiological, inflammatory, and neuropathic types. Neural plasticity, the ability of neurons to change, drives pain pathogenesis by increasing neural gain and causing pain hypersensitivity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Pain is a complex sensation with physiological, inflammatory, and neuropathic components.
- Neural plasticity, the ability of neurons to alter function, chemistry, or structure, is implicated in pain mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a conceptual framework for neural plasticity's role in pain pathogenesis.
- To identify specific forms of plasticity in sensory neurons contributing to pain.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework development.
- Analysis of neural plasticity mechanisms in primary sensory and dorsal horn neurons.
Main Results:
- Identified three distinct forms of neural plasticity: activation, modulation, and modification.
- These plasticity forms increase neural gain, leading to pain hypersensitivity.
Conclusions:
- Neural plasticity in primary sensory and dorsal horn neurons is central to pain pathogenesis.
- Distinct plasticity mechanisms contribute to the development and maintenance of pain states.
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