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Reward Circuitry Plasticity in Pain Perception and Modulation.
Marcos F DosSantos1, Brenda de Souza Moura2, Alexandre F DaSilva3
1Laboratório de Morfogênese Celular, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
|December 7, 2017
Summary
The brain's reward circuitry, including key areas like the nucleus accumbens, is crucial for pain perception. Chronic pain syndromes involve neuroplastic changes in these reward pathways.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Pain mechanisms, especially the transition from acute to chronic, remain poorly understood.
- Inadequate understanding leads to unsatisfactory pain treatment and increased chronic pain burden.
- Pain is a complex experience involving central nervous system interpretation of stimuli and affective dimensions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and interpret data linking reward circuitry components to pain.
- To examine neuroplastic changes in reward structures in chronic pain syndromes.
- To highlight the role of the reward system in pain experience and modulation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and data interpretation.
- Focus on major reward circuitry components: nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex.
- Analysis of neuroplasticity in these structures in conditions like migraine, neuropathic pain, back pain, and fibromyalgia.
Main Results:
- The reward circuitry is a vital element in pain experience and modulation.
- Specific structures (nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex) are implicated in pain processing.
- Neuroplastic changes in these reward pathways are observed in various chronic pain syndromes.
Conclusions:
- The reward circuitry plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of chronic pain.
- Understanding these neuroplastic changes is critical for developing effective pain treatments.
- Further research into the reward system's involvement in pain is warranted.
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