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Published on: January 27, 2010
Descending modulation of pain
1Department of Pharmacology, Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, 2-471 Bowen Science Building, Iowa City, IA 52242-1109, USA. gf-gebhart@uiowa.edu
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|March 17, 2004
Summary
Descending pain modulation involves both inhibition and facilitation. Growing evidence suggests that descending facilitatory pathways may play a key role in chronic pain conditions like hyperalgesia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Spinal Cord Modulation
Background:
- The study of descending pain modulation dates back to Sherrington.
- Modern research on endogenous pain modulation systems began in the late 1960s with midbrain stimulation studies in rats inducing analgesia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the evolving understanding of descending modulation of spinal nociceptive processing.
- To highlight the growing appreciation for the role of descending facilitation in pain.
Main Methods:
- Review of historical and current scientific literature on descending pain modulation.
- Analysis of evidence implicating descending pathways in pain states.
Main Results:
- Descending modulation of spinal nociceptive processing can be inhibitory or facilitatory.
- Descending facilitatory (pro-nociceptive) influences are increasingly recognized for their importance.
Conclusions:
- Descending facilitatory pathways are implicated in the development and maintenance of hyperalgesia.
- These descending facilitatory influences may contribute significantly to chronic pain states.
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