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Updated: Sep 9, 2025
The Sciatic Nerve Cuffing Model of Neuropathic Pain in Mice
Published on: July 16, 2014
Bidirectional modulation of somatostatin-expressing interneurons in the basolateral amygdala reduces neuropathic pain
Aditya Apte1, Julia Fernald1, Cody Slater1,2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
Introduction:
Neuropathic pain is characterized by mechanical allodynia and thermal (heat and cold) hypersensitivity, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood.
Methods:
Using chemogenetic excitation and inhibition, we examined the role of inhibitory interneurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in modulating pain perception following nerve injury.
Results:
Chemogenetic excitation of parvalbumin-positive (PV+) interneurons significantly alleviated mechanical allodynia but had minimal effects on thermal hypersensitivity. However, inhibition of PV+ interneurons did not produce significant changes in pain sensitivity, suggesting that reductions in perisomatic inhibition do not contribute to chronic pain states. In contrast, bidirectional modulation of somatostatin-positive (SST+) interneurons influenced pain perception in a modality-specific manner. Both excitation and inhibition of SST+ interneurons alleviated mechanical allodynia, indicating a potential compensatory role in nociceptive processing. Additionally, SST+ neuron excitation reduced cold hypersensitivity without affecting heat hypersensitivity, whereas inhibition improved heat hypersensitivity but not cold responses.
Discussion:
Our findings suggest that, in addition to PV+ neurons, SST+ interneurons in the BLA play complex roles in modulating neuropathic pain following nerve injury and may serve as a potential target for future neuromodulation interventions in chronic pain management.
