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Related Concept Videos

Pain01:20

Pain

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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...
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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.
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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.
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Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Recording Network Activity in Spinal Nociceptive Circuits Using Microelectrode Arrays
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Brain Circuits Encoding Reward from Pain Relief.

Edita Navratilova1, Christopher W Atcherley2, Frank Porreca3

  • 1Department of Pharmacology, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.

Trends in Neurosciences
|November 26, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Pain relief is rewarding, involving opioid signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). This understanding may lead to better pain therapies.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Research
  • Reward System

Background:

  • Pain relief is a pleasurable and rewarding experience.
  • Brain reward circuits are well-studied for positive reinforcement, but less is known about pain relief's rewarding mechanisms.
  • Understanding these circuits is crucial for developing effective pain management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the neural circuits underlying the rewarding and reinforcing effects of pain relief.
  • To elucidate the roles of specific brain regions and neurotransmitters in the experience of pain relief.

Main Methods:

  • Review of electrophysiological studies.
  • Analysis of neuroimaging data.
  • Examination of behavioral research findings.

Main Results:

  • Opioid signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is essential for the rewarding effect of pain relief.
  • Activation of midbrain dopamine neurons is involved.
  • Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a critical role.

Conclusions:

  • The rewarding aspect of pain relief involves a specific neural pathway including the ACC, midbrain dopamine neurons, and the NAc.
  • This knowledge can inform the development of novel and improved therapies for acute and chronic pain conditions.