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Related Experiment Video

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Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording

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Abnormalities in hippocampal functioning with persistent pain.

Amelia A Mutso¹, Daniel Radzicki, Marwan N Baliki

¹Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|April 28, 2012

Summary

Chronic pain impacts the hippocampus, affecting learning and emotions. This study reveals hippocampal volume reduction in chronic pain patients, linking neuropathic pain to cognitive and emotional deficits.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Pain Research
Psychiatry

Background:

Chronic pain is linked to anxiety, depression, and cognitive deficits.
The hippocampus, crucial for learning and emotion, is minimally explored in chronic pain.
Neuropathic pain models offer insights into pain-induced brain changes.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate the impact of neuropathic pain on hippocampal function and structure.
Examine cellular and molecular changes in the hippocampus following nerve injury.
Correlate rodent hippocampal changes with hippocampal volume in human chronic pain patients.

Main Methods:

Spared nerve injury (SNI) model of neuropathic pain in mice.
Assessed hippocampal-dependent behaviors (fear extinction, anxiety).
Measured hippocampal molecular changes (ERK signaling, neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity).
Quantified hippocampal volume in chronic back pain (CBP), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

Main Results:

SNI mice displayed impaired fear extinction and increased anxiety.
Hippocampal abnormalities in SNI mice included reduced ERK signaling, decreased neurogenesis, and altered synaptic plasticity.
Chronic pain patients with CBP and CRPS showed significantly reduced hippocampal volume compared to controls.
Osteoarthritis patients did not exhibit significant hippocampal volume changes.

Conclusions:

Neuropathic pain induces hippocampal dysfunction in rodents, affecting behavior, plasticity, and neurogenesis.
Reduced hippocampal volume in human chronic pain patients (CBP, CRPS) may be linked to these rodent findings.
Hippocampal abnormalities could underlie the learning and emotional deficits observed in chronic pain populations.