N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor agonism and antagonism within the amygdaloid central nucleus suppresses pain affect: differential contribution of the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray

Regional Differences Within the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in the Generation Versus Suppression of Pain Affect in Rats

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) modulates emotional responses to pain. Whereas, the caudal ACC (cACC) promotes expression of pain affect, the rostral ACC (rACC) contributes to its suppression. Both subdivisions receive glutamatergic innervation, and the present study evaluated the contribution of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors within these subdivisions to rats' expression of pain affect. Vocalizations that follow a brief noxious tail shock (vocalization afterdischarges, VAD) are a validated rodent model of pain affect. The threshold current for eliciting VAD was increased in a dose-dependent manner by injecting NMDA into the rACC, but performance (latency, amplitude, and duration) at threshold was not altered. Alternately, the threshold current for eliciting VAD was not altered following injection of NMDA into the cACC, but its amplitude and duration at threshold were increased in a dose-dependent manner. These effects were limited to Cg1 of the rACC and cACC, and blocked by pretreatment of the ACC with the NMDA receptor antagonist d-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate. These findings demonstrate that NMDA receptor agonism within the cACC and rACC either increases or decreases emotional responses to noxious stimulation, respectively. PERSPECTIVE: NMDA receptor activation of the rostral and caudal ACC respectively inhibited or enhanced rats' emotional response to pain. These findings mirror those obtained from human neuroimaging studies; thereby, supporting the use of this model system in evaluating the contribution of ACC to pain affect.

Involvement of the periaqueductal gray in the descending antinociceptive effect induced by the central nucleus of amygdala

Here we studied whether descending control of mechanical nociception by glutamate in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) of healthy control animals is induced by amygdaloid NMDA receptors and relayed through the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). Mechanical nociception in the hind paws was assessed in rats with chronic guide cannulae for glutamate administration in the right CeA and for inducing local anesthesia in the PAG. In a separate electrophysiological study, ON-like PAG neurons giving an excitatory response to noxious pinch of the tail were recorded in anesthetized rats following glutamate administration into the CeA. A high dose of glutamate (100 microg) in the CeA induced mechanical antinociception in the contra- but not ipsilateral hind limb. Antinociception was prevented by an NMDA receptor antagonist in the CeA or local anesthesia of the PAG. Discharge rate of ON-like PAG neurons was increased by a high dose of glutamate (100 microg) in the CeA and this increase was prevented by an NMDA receptor antagonist in the CeA. The results indicate that amygdaloid NMDA receptors in the CeA may induce contralaterally mechanical antinociception through a circuitry relaying in the PAG. Activation of ON-like PAG neurons is associated with the descending antinociceptive effect. Mechanisms and causality of this association still remain to be studied.

Differential effects of naloxone on rewarding electrical stimulation of the central nucleus of the amygdala and parabrachial complex in a place preference study

The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is considered to be involved in different affective, sensory, regulatory, and acquisition processes. This study analyzed whether electrical stimulation of the PB-CeA system induces preferences in a concurrent place preference (cPP) task, as observed after stimulation of the parabrachial-insular cortex (PB-IC) axis. It also examined whether the rewarding effects are naloxone-dependent. The results show that electrical stimulation of the CeA and external lateral parabrachial subnucleus (LPBe) induces consistent preference behaviors in a cPP task. However, subcutaneous administration of an opiate antagonist (naloxone; 4mg/ml/kg) blocked the rewarding effect of the parabrachial stimulation but not that of the amygdala stimulation. These results are interpreted in the context of multiple brain reward systems that appear to differ both anatomically and neurochemically, notably with respect to the opiate system.

The effects of black soybean (Glycine max var.) on chronic cervical pain of sedentary office workers in a northern Chinese population

Chronic cervical pain is a common symptom of sedentary office workers. Black soybean (Glycine max var.) has rich necessary nutrients for the therapy of chronic pain. Thus, it may ease chronic cervical pain. To prove our claim, 260 sedentary office workers with chronic pain were recruited and they consumed the defined diets at breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 1 g, 5 g and 10 g (3 g, 15 g, 30 g daily) cooked black soybean for 24 weeks. Visual analog scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDI) pain scores and short-form 36 (SF-36) health survey questionnaires were applied in the study. The levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) were measured. The VAS and NDI pain scores reduced and SF-36 scores increased in a 15 or 30 g black soybean daily group compared with a 3 g black soybean daily group after a 24-week therapy (P < 0.05). The 30 g black soybean daily group was better than the 15 g black soybean daily group in relieving chronic cervical pain of sedentary office workers (p < 0.05). The levels of NMDAR were lower in the 15 or 30 black soybean daily group than those in the 3 g black soybean daily group (P < 0.05). Black soybean can ameliorate chronic cervical pain by down-regulating the levels of NMDAR.

Bidirectional amygdaloid control of neuropathic hypersensitivity mediated by descending serotonergic pathways acting on spinal 5-HT3 and 5-HT1A receptors

Amygdala is involved in processing of primary emotions and particularly its central nucleus (CeA) also in pain control. Here we studied mechanisms mediating the descending control of mechanical hypersensitivity by the CeA in rats with a peripheral neuropathy in the left hind limb. For drug administrations, the animals had a guide cannula in the right CeA and an intrathecal catheter or another guide cannula in the medullary raphe. Hypersensitivity was tested with monofilaments. Glutamate administration in the CeA produced a bidirectional effect on hypersensitivity that varied from an increase at a low-dose (9μg) to a reduction at high doses (30-100μg). The increase but not the reduction of hypersensitivity was prevented by blocking the amygdaloid NMDA receptor with a dose of MK-801 that alone had no effects. The glutamate-induced increase in hypersensitivity was reversed by blocking the spinal 5-HT3 receptor with ondansetron, whereas the reduction in hypersensitivity was reversed by blocking the spinal 5-HT1A receptor with WAY-100635. Both the increase and decrease of hypersensitivity induced by amygdaloid glutamate treatment were reversed by medullary administration of a 5-HT1A agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, that presumably produced autoinhibition of serotonergic cell bodies in the medullary raphe. The results indicate that depending on the dose, glutamate in the CeA has a descending facilitatory or inhibitory effect on neuropathic pain hypersensitivity. Serotoninergic raphe neurons are involved in mediating both of these effects. Spinally, the 5-HT3 receptor contributes to the increase and the 5-HT1A receptor to the decrease of neuropathic hypersensitivity induced by amygdaloid glutamate.