Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Nociception01:44

Nociception

Nociception—the ability to feel pain—is essential for an organism’s survival and overall well-being. Noxious stimuli such as piercing pain from a sharp object, heat from an open flame, or contact with corrosive chemicals are first detected by sensory receptors, called nociceptors, located on nerve endings. Nociceptors express ion channels that convert noxious stimuli into electrical signals. When these signals reach the brain via sensory neurons, they are perceived as pain. Thus, pain helps the...
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways01:28

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
Neural Circuits01:25

Neural Circuits

Neural circuits and neuronal pools are two of the main structures found in the nervous system. Neural circuits are networks of neurons that work together to carry out a specific task or process. They consist of interconnected neurons and glial cells, which provide structural and metabolic support.
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways01:29

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

Somatic sensory or somatosensory pathways refer to the neural pathways that carry information related to touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception from the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain. These pathways involve several stages of processing and integration of sensory information.
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
Pain01:20

Pain

Pain serves as a critical warning signal that alerts the body to potential or actual harm. When mechanical pressure on the skin is intense, such as from a sharp pinch, the sensation transitions from touch to pain. Similarly, extreme temperatures, like a hot pot handle, convert the sensation of heat into pain. Pain can also result from overstimulation of other senses, such as blinding light, loud noise, or the intense heat from habañero peppers. This ability to sense pain is essential for...
Analgesia and Pain Management01:25

Analgesia and Pain Management

Pain is critical to various clinical pathologies, provoking an urgent need for effective management. Pain, whether acute or chronic, is a complex neurochemical process. Its alleviation depends on the type, with nonopioid analgesics effective for mild to moderate pain, such as musculoskeletal or inflammatory pain, while neuropathic pain responds best to anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, or serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. For severe acute or chronic pain, opioids may be...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Congenital absence of touch does not preclude normal cognitive and socioemotional development.

Research square·2024
Same author

The role of somatosensation in automatic visuo-motor control: a comparison of congenital and acquired sensory loss.

Experimental brain research·2021
Same author

Perception of body shape and size without touch or proprioception: evidence from individuals with congenital and acquired neuropathy.

Experimental brain research·2021
Same author

Lessons from helping behavior in rats.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2021
Same author

The bystander effect in rats.

Science advances·2020
Same author

Behavioral Tests for Mouse Models of Autism: An Argument for the Inclusion of Cerebellum-Controlled Motor Behaviors.

Neuroscience·2020
Same journal

Population codes for context-dependent decision-making.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026
Same journal

Cichlid fish as a model for understanding social dysfunction.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026
Same journal

On aims and methods in field neuroethology: Investigating neural mechanisms of behavior in semi-natural and natural contexts.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026
Same journal

Neurobiological interfaces connecting environmental change to monarch butterfly migration.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026
Same journal

Learning how to experience the world: From circuits to cell types to genes.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026
Same journal

Editorial overview for neurobiology of disease 2026.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Recording Network Activity in Spinal Nociceptive Circuits Using Microelectrode Arrays
11:28

Recording Network Activity in Spinal Nociceptive Circuits Using Microelectrode Arrays

Published on: February 9, 2022

Medullary circuits for nociceptive modulation.

Peggy Mason1

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States. p-mason@uchicago.edu

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|April 10, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Medullary raphe neurons modulate pain. Morphine suppresses phasic activity in these neurons, reducing pain and withdrawal responses, suggesting a new model for brainstem pain control.

More Related Videos

Optimizing Photoneuromodulation Techniques to Evaluate the Role of Green Light-Emitting Diodes in Pain Management
09:03

Optimizing Photoneuromodulation Techniques to Evaluate the Role of Green Light-Emitting Diodes in Pain Management

Published on: March 28, 2025

Patch Clamp Recordings on Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia from Adult Rats
12:00

Patch Clamp Recordings on Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia from Adult Rats

Published on: September 29, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Recording Network Activity in Spinal Nociceptive Circuits Using Microelectrode Arrays
11:28

Recording Network Activity in Spinal Nociceptive Circuits Using Microelectrode Arrays

Published on: February 9, 2022

Optimizing Photoneuromodulation Techniques to Evaluate the Role of Green Light-Emitting Diodes in Pain Management
09:03

Optimizing Photoneuromodulation Techniques to Evaluate the Role of Green Light-Emitting Diodes in Pain Management

Published on: March 28, 2025

Patch Clamp Recordings on Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia from Adult Rats
12:00

Patch Clamp Recordings on Intact Dorsal Root Ganglia from Adult Rats

Published on: September 29, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pain research
  • Opioid analgesia

Background:

  • Medullary raphe neurons are key to opioid pain relief via descending projections.
  • Previous models suggested tonic neuronal activity for nociceptive suppression in anesthetized rats.
  • This model is challenged by findings in unanesthetized rodents, where morphine lacks tonic effects on raphe firing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of medullary raphe neurons in pain modulation in unanesthetized rodents.
  • To re-evaluate the model of descending pain control based on tonic versus phasic neuronal activity.
  • To understand the effects of morphine on raphe neuronal activity and nociceptive withdrawal.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings of medullary raphe neurons in unanesthetized rodents.
  • Administration of morphine and observation of its effects on neuronal firing patterns.
  • Assessment of nociceptive withdrawal responses.

Main Results:

  • Morphine did not induce tonic changes in medullary raphe neuronal firing.
  • A drop in nociceptive-inhibiting neuron activity and a burst in nociceptive-facilitating neuron activity were linked to withdrawal.
  • Morphine suppressed phasic responses of raphe cells, correlating with reduced nociceptive withdrawals.

Conclusions:

  • The medullary raphe's role in nociception involves phasic modulation, facilitating reactions to noxious stimuli.
  • A new model proposes that medullary raphe neurons facilitate nociceptive reactions and may regulate other functions between painful events.
  • This challenges previous theories based on tonic neuronal activity in anesthetized subjects.