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Intracranial Pharmacotherapy and Pain Assays in Rodents
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Engaging endogenous opioid circuits in pain affective processes.

Blake A Kimmey1,2, Nora M McCall1,2, Lisa M Wooldridge1,2

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Journal of Neuroscience Research
|December 14, 2020
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Summary

Opioid medications reduce the unpleasantness of pain by targeting emotional brain circuits, not sensory aspects. This understanding may lead to new pain treatments with less addiction risk.

Keywords:
amygdalacingulate cortexemotionnucleus accumbensperiaqueductal grayvalenceμ opioid receptor

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Pain Research

Background:

  • Opioids are effective analgesics but contribute to the opioid epidemic.
  • Pain is a complex experience involving sensory and affective components.
  • Understanding how opioids affect pain perception is crucial for developing safer treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neurobiological mechanisms by which opioids alleviate pain.
  • To differentiate the effects of opioids on sensory versus affective aspects of pain perception.
  • To explore novel therapeutic targets for analgesia.

Main Methods:

  • Review of human lesion studies.
  • Analysis of neuroimaging data.
  • Examination of preclinical functional neuroanatomy.
  • Discussion of historical pain theories and modern neuroscience findings.

Main Results:

  • Opioids primarily reduce the affective (emotional) appraisal of nociceptive information.
  • Opioid action weakens pain-associated unpleasantness.
  • Opioids do not significantly modulate the perceived sensory qualities of pain.

Conclusions:

  • Modern neuroscience supports the view that opioids target the emotional dimension of pain.
  • Targeting opioidergic signaling in affective brain circuits offers a promising strategy for developing new analgesics.
  • This approach could reduce reliance on current opioid therapies and mitigate addiction risks.