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Pagliusi M, Gomes FV. The Role of The Rostral Ventromedial Medulla in Stress Responses. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13050776. [PMID: 37239248 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13050776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) is a brainstem structure critical for the descending pain modulation system involved in both pain facilitation and inhibition through its projection to the spinal cord. Since the RVM is well connected with pain- and stress-engaged brain structures, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala, its involvement in stress responses has become a matter of great interest. While chronic stress has been proposed as a trigger of pain chronification and related psychiatric comorbidities due to maladaptive stress responses, acute stress triggers analgesia and other adaptative responses. Here we reviewed and highlighted the critical role of the RVM in stress responses, mainly in acute stress-induced analgesia (SIA) and chronic stress-induced hyperalgesia (SIH), providing insights into pain chronification processes and comorbidity between chronic pain and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Pagliusi
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14015-069, SP, Brazil
| | - Felipe V Gomes
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14015-069, SP, Brazil
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2
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Acetaminophen and pregabalin attenuate central sensitization in rodent models of nociplastic widespread pain. Neuropharmacology 2022; 210:109029. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Kuner R, Kuner T. Cellular Circuits in the Brain and Their Modulation in Acute and Chronic Pain. Physiol Rev 2020; 101:213-258. [PMID: 32525759 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00040.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic, pathological pain remains a global health problem and a challenge to basic and clinical sciences. A major obstacle to preventing, treating, or reverting chronic pain has been that the nature of neural circuits underlying the diverse components of the complex, multidimensional experience of pain is not well understood. Moreover, chronic pain involves diverse maladaptive plasticity processes, which have not been decoded mechanistically in terms of involvement of specific circuits and cause-effect relationships. This review aims to discuss recent advances in our understanding of circuit connectivity in the mammalian brain at the level of regional contributions and specific cell types in acute and chronic pain. A major focus is placed on functional dissection of sub-neocortical brain circuits using optogenetics, chemogenetics, and imaging technological tools in rodent models with a view towards decoding sensory, affective, and motivational-cognitive dimensions of pain. The review summarizes recent breakthroughs and insights on structure-function properties in nociceptive circuits and higher order sub-neocortical modulatory circuits involved in aversion, learning, reward, and mood and their modulation by endogenous GABAergic inhibition, noradrenergic, cholinergic, dopaminergic, serotonergic, and peptidergic pathways. The knowledge of neural circuits and their dynamic regulation via functional and structural plasticity will be beneficial towards designing and improving targeted therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohini Kuner
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; and Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Kuner
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; and Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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Chen W, Taché Y, Marvizón JC. Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in the Brain and Blocking Spinal Descending Signals Induce Hyperalgesia in the Latent Sensitization Model of Chronic Pain. Neuroscience 2019; 381:149-158. [PMID: 29776484 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2017] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Latent sensitization is a model of chronic pain in which an injury triggers a period of hyperalgesia followed by an apparent recovery, but in which pain sensitization persists but is suppressed by opioid and adrenergic receptors. One important characteristic of latent sensitization is that hyperalgesia can be triggered by acute stress. To determine whether the effect of stress is mimicked by the activation of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling in the brain, rats with latent sensitization induced by injecting complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA, 50 μl) in one hind paw were given an intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of CRF. The i.c.v. injection of CRF (0.6 μg, 10 μl), but not saline, induced bilateral mechanical hyperalgesia in rats with latent sensitization. In contrast, CRF i.c.v. did not induce hyperalgesia in rats without latent sensitization (injected with saline in the hind paw). To determine whether descending pain inhibition mediates the suppression of hyperalgesia in latent sensitization, rats with CFA-induced latent sensitization received an intrathecal injection of lidocaine (10%, 1 μl) at the cervical-thoracic spinal cord to produce a spinal block. Lidocaine-injected rats, but not rats injected intrathecally with saline, developed bilateral mechanical hyperalgesia. Intrathecal lidocaine did not induce hyperalgesia in rats without latent sensitization (injected with saline in the hind paw). These results show that i.c.v. CRF mimicked the hyperalgesic response triggered by stress during latent sensitization, possibly by blocking inhibitory spinal descending signals that suppress hyperalgesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenling Chen
- Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA 90073, United States; Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
| | - Yvette Taché
- Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA 90073, United States; Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
| | - Juan Carlos Marvizón
- Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA 90073, United States; Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
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Weston CSE. Amygdala Represents Diverse Forms of Intangible Knowledge, That Illuminate Social Processing and Major Clinical Disorders. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:336. [PMID: 30186129 PMCID: PMC6113401 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Amygdala is an intensively researched brain structure involved in social processing and multiple major clinical disorders, but its functions are not well understood. The functions of a brain structure are best hypothesized on the basis of neuroanatomical connectivity findings, and of behavioral, neuroimaging, neuropsychological and physiological findings. Among the heaviest neuroanatomical interconnections of amygdala are those with perirhinal cortex (PRC), but these are little considered in the theoretical literature. PRC integrates complex, multimodal, meaningful and fine-grained distributed representations of objects and conspecifics. Consistent with this connectivity, amygdala is hypothesized to contribute meaningful and fine-grained representations of intangible knowledge for integration by PRC. Behavioral, neuroimaging, neuropsychological and physiological findings further support amygdala mediation of a diversity of such representations. These representations include subjective valence, impact, economic value, noxiousness, importance, ingroup membership, social status, popularity, trustworthiness and moral features. Further, the formation of amygdala representations is little understood, and is proposed to be often implemented through embodied cognition mechanisms. The hypothesis builds on earlier work, and makes multiple novel contributions to the literature. It highlights intangible knowledge, which is an influential but insufficiently researched factor in social and other behaviors. It contributes to understanding the heavy but neglected amygdala-PRC interconnections, and the diversity of amygdala-mediated intangible knowledge representations. Amygdala is a social brain region, but it does not represent species-typical social behaviors. A novel proposal to clarify its role is postulated. The hypothesis is also suggested to illuminate amygdala's involvement in several core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Specifically, novel and testable explanations are proposed for the ASD symptoms of disorganized visual scanpaths, apparent social disinterest, preference for concrete cognition, aspects of the disorder's heterogeneity, and impairment in some activities of daily living. Together, the presented hypothesis demonstrates substantial explanatory potential in the neuroscience, social and clinical domains.
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Kitanaka N, Kitanaka J, Hall FS, Kandori T, Murakami A, Muratani K, Nakano T, Uhl GR, Takemura M. Tetrabenazine, a vesicular monoamine transporter-2 inhibitor, attenuates morphine-induced hyperlocomotion in mice through alteration of dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine turnover in the cerebral cortex. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2018; 172:9-16. [PMID: 30017858 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2018.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
A single administration with morphine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) induced long-lasting hyperlocomotion in male ICR mice. Pretreatment of mice with a benzoquinolizine derivative tetrabenazine (TBZ; a reversible vesicular monoamine transporter-2 inhibitor) (1 mg/kg, i.p.) for 30 min significantly attenuated the hyperlocomotion induced by morphine, as compared with vehicle (saline)-pretreated mice. No significant change in locomotion was observed in mice pretreated with TBZ (1 mg/kg) alone. Mice treated with TBZ (1 mg/kg) showed an increase in immobility time in a tail suspension test, as compared with saline-treated mice. Pretreatment with TBZ (1 mg/kg) had no effect on morphine (1-30 mg/kg)-induced antinociception. TBZ at a dose of 1 mg/kg inhibited dopamine turnover (the ratio of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid/dopamine) and 5-hydroxytryptamine turnover (the ratio of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid/5-hydroxytryptamine) in the cerebral cortex of mice challenged with morphine, as compared with saline-pretreated mice challenged with morphine. No stereotypic behavior was observed in mice treated with morphine (30 mg/kg) in combination with TBZ (1 mg/kg), so the reduction in observed locomotion did not result from induction of stereotypical behavior. Moreover, TBZ (1 and 2 mg/kg) pretreatment had no effect on stereotyped behaviors observed in mice challenged with 10 mg/kg methamphetamine. These data support the potential antagonistic actions of TBZ on some opiate actions, and encourage further exploration of potential effects on morphine reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobue Kitanaka
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan
| | - Junichi Kitanaka
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
| | - F Scott Hall
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - Takashi Kandori
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan
| | - Ayaka Murakami
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan
| | - Kazuki Muratani
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan
| | - Tae Nakano
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan
| | - George R Uhl
- New Mexico VA Healthcare System/BRINM, Albuquerque, NM 87108, USA
| | - Motohiko Takemura
- Department of Pharmacology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan
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Abstract
This paper is the thirty-ninth consecutive installment of the annual review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system. It summarizes papers published during 2016 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides, opioid receptors, opioid agonists and opioid antagonists. The particular topics that continue to be covered include the molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous opioids and their receptors related to behavior, and the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia, stress and social status, tolerance and dependence, learning and memory, eating and drinking, drug abuse and alcohol, sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology, mental illness and mood, seizures and neurologic disorders, electrical-related activity and neurophysiology, general activity and locomotion, gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions, cardiovascular responses, respiration and thermoregulation, and immunological responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology and CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, United States.
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Schafer SM, Geuter S, Wager TD. Mechanisms of placebo analgesia: A dual-process model informed by insights from cross-species comparisons. Prog Neurobiol 2018; 160:101-122. [PMID: 29108801 PMCID: PMC5747994 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 10/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Placebo treatments are pharmacologically inert, but are known to alleviate symptoms across a variety of clinical conditions. Associative learning and cognitive expectations both play important roles in placebo responses, however we are just beginning to understand how interactions between these processes lead to powerful effects. Here, we review the psychological principles underlying placebo effects and our current understanding of their brain bases, focusing on studies demonstrating both the importance of cognitive expectations and those that demonstrate expectancy-independent associative learning. To account for both forms of placebo analgesia, we propose a dual-process model in which flexible, contextually driven cognitive schemas and attributions guide associative learning processes that produce stable, long-term placebo effects. According to this model, the placebo-induction paradigms with the most powerful effects are those that combine reinforcement (e.g., the experience of reduced pain after placebo treatment) with suggestions and context cues that disambiguate learning by attributing perceived benefit to the placebo. Using this model as a conceptual scaffold, we review and compare neurobiological systems identified in both human studies of placebo analgesia and behavioral pain modulation in rodents. We identify substantial overlap between the circuits involved in human placebo analgesia and those that mediate multiple forms of context-based modulation of pain behavior in rodents, including forebrain-brainstem pathways and opioid and cannabinoid systems in particular. This overlap suggests that placebo effects are part of a set of adaptive mechanisms for shaping nociceptive signaling based on its information value and anticipated optimal response in a given behavioral context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott M Schafer
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Stephan Geuter
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 344 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 344 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
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Holmes NM, Crane JW, Tang M, Fam J, Westbrook RF, Delaney AJ. α 2-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition in the central amygdala blocks fear-conditioning. Sci Rep 2017; 7:11712. [PMID: 28916748 PMCID: PMC5601913 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12115-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The central amygdala is critical for the acquisition and expression of fear memories. This region receives a dense innervation from brainstem noradrenergic cell groups and has a high level of α2-adrenoceptor expression. Using whole-cell electrophysiological recordings from rat brain slices, we characterise the role of pre-synaptic α2-adrenoceptor in modulating discrete inhibitory and excitatory connections within both the lateral and medial division of the central amygdala. The selective α2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine blocked the excitatory input from the pontine parabrachial neurons onto neurons of the lateral central amygdala. In addition, clonidine blocked inhibitory connections from the medial paracapsular intercalated cell mass onto both lateral and medial central amygdala neurons. To examine the behavioural consequence of α2-adrenoceptor-mediated inhibition of these inputs, we infused clonidine into the central amygdala prior to contextual fear-conditioning. In contrast to vehicle-infused rats, clonidine-infused animals displayed reduced levels of freezing 24 hours after training, despite showing no difference in freezing during the training session. These results reveal a role for α2-adrenoceptors within the central amygdala in the modulation of synaptic transmission and the formation of fear-memories. In addition, they provide further evidence for a role of the central amygdala in fear-memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- N M Holmes
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - J W Crane
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, 2800, Australia
| | - M Tang
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - J Fam
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - R F Westbrook
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - A J Delaney
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, 2800, Australia.
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Kirkpatrick DR, McEntire DM, Smith TA, Dueck NP, Kerfeld MJ, Hambsch ZJ, Nelson TJ, Reisbig MD, Agrawal DK. Transmission pathways and mediators as the basis for clinical pharmacology of pain. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol 2016; 9:1363-1387. [PMID: 27322358 PMCID: PMC5215101 DOI: 10.1080/17512433.2016.1204231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mediators in pain transmission are the targets of a multitude of different analgesic pharmaceuticals. This review explores the most significant mediators of pain transmission as well as the pharmaceuticals that act on them. Areas covered: The review explores many of the key mediators of pain transmission. In doing so, this review uncovers important areas for further research. It also highlights agents with potential for producing novel analgesics, probes important interactions between pain transmission pathways that could contribute to synergistic analgesia, and emphasizes transmission factors that participate in transforming acute injury into chronic pain. Expert commentary: This review examines current pain research, particularly in the context of identifying novel analgesics, highlighting interactions between analgesic transmission pathways, and discussing factors that may contribute to the development of chronic pain after an acute injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R. Kirkpatrick
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Dan M. McEntire
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Tyler A. Smith
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Nicholas P. Dueck
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Mitchell J. Kerfeld
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Zakary J. Hambsch
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Taylor J. Nelson
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Mark D. Reisbig
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
| | - Devendra K. Agrawal
- Departments of Clinical and Translational Science and Anesthesiology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178 USA
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