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Updated: May 28, 2026

Evaluation of Synaptic Multiplicity Using Whole-cell Patch-clamp Electrophysiology
Published on: April 23, 2019
ERK, synaptic plasticity and acid-induced muscle pain
Ming-Yuan Min1, Hsiu-Wen Yang, Chen-Tung Yen
1Institute of Zoology and College of Life Science; National Taiwan University; Taipei.
None:
Chronic pain is characterized by post-injury pain hypersensitivity. Current evidence suggests that it might result from altered neuronal excitability and/or synaptic functions in pain-related pathways and brain areas, an effect known as central sensitization. Increased activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been well-demonstrated in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in chronic pain animal models. Recently, increased ERK activity has also been identified in two supraspinal areas, the central amygdala and the paraventricular thalamic nucleus anterior. Our recent work on the capsular central amygdala has shown that this increased ERK activity can enhance synaptic transmission, which might account for central sensitization and behavior hypersensitivity in animals receiving noxious stimuli.
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