SUMMARY There is no more potent a motive in life than to preserve the integrity of the self. Our existence as autonomous agents rests on the ability to detect a multiplicity of dangers and threats and respond to them both…
SUMMARY Epidemiological studies, particularly within the past few decades, have greatly increased our understanding of the burden of chronic pain and the etiological factors implicated in its onset. In an adult population, the most common regional pain syndromes are those…
SUMMARY The topic of sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia has garnered progressively more interest from the pain research community over the last 15 years. The field has moved from asking whether there are meaningful sex or gender…
SUMMARY A specific neuronal pathway for histamine-induced itch in the peripheral and central nervous systems has been described. However, not all forms of itch are mediated by this pathway. Apparently, non-specific pathways also exist that are operational under physiological conditions.…
SUMMARY Pain is a warning signal not only for local tissue or nerve injury but also as an indicator of systemic illness. Signaling by the autonomic, endocrine, and immune systems, coordinated by central neural circuits, produces changes perceived as pain,…
SUMMARY The ascending pathways that convey pain-related activity to the forebrain in humans include the lateral spinothalamic tract and indirect spinobulbar projections by way of brain stem homeostatic sites. Several areas in the thalamus relay pain-related activity to the cortex,…
SUMMARY Animal models of pain, usually rodents, support basic research on physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms, as well as applied research in drug discovery. Quantification of pain and analgesia relies on responses evoked by physical or chemical stimuli and modification of…
SUMMARY Pain is associated with considerable variability between individuals. Humans exhibit robust differences in their thresholds and tolerances to controlled noxious stimuli, in their analgesic response to drugs, and in their susceptibility to (and severity of) clinical pain syndromes. In…
SUMMARY Study of the development of pain pathways and mechanisms is fundamental to our understanding and treatment of the many infants and children around the world who suffer acute or chronic pain. Increasing evidence that exposure to tissue injury and…
SUMMARY In this chapter we present an overview of pain-modulating systems with a focus on the properties of a network with major relays in the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) and rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM). This network exerts bidirectional control over…