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The mirror-image pain: an unclered phenomenon and its possible mechanism

Dongyue Huang1, Buwei Yu

  • 1Department of Anesthesiology, Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|November 4, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Mirror-image pain (MIP) occurs contralaterally to an injury in humans and animals. This review summarizes reported mechanisms and speculates on underlying causes of this pain phenomenon.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Research
  • Animal Models

Background:

  • Contralateral allodynia following injury is a known phenomenon.
  • Mirror-image pain (MIP) describes pain occurring on the opposite side of an injury.
  • This pain can manifest in both human patients and animal models.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the occurrence of mirror-image pain (MIP) in humans and animals.
  • To summarize the proposed mechanisms underlying MIP.
  • To speculate on potential mechanisms based on existing literature.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies reporting mirror-image pain.
  • Synthesis of reported mechanisms of MIP.
  • Speculative analysis of underlying mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Mirror-image pain (MIP) is documented in human and animal studies.
  • Various mechanisms for MIP have been proposed in the literature.
  • The review consolidates current understanding and proposes further avenues for investigation.

Conclusions:

  • Mirror-image pain is a recognized clinical and experimental observation.
  • Understanding the mechanisms of MIP is crucial for effective pain management.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the precise pathways involved in MIP.

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