1
|
Franciosa F, Acuña MA, Nevian NE, Nevian T. A cellular mechanism contributing to pain-induced analgesia. Pain 2024:00006396-990000000-00640. [PMID: 38968393 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
ABSTRACT The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a crucial role in the perception of pain. It is consistently activated by noxious stimuli and its hyperactivity in chronic pain indicates plasticity in the local neuronal network. However, the way persistent pain effects and modifies different neuronal cell types in the ACC and how this contributes to sensory sensitization is not completely understood. This study confirms the existence of 2 primary subtypes of pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the rostral, agranular ACC, which we could classify as intratelencephalic (IT) and cortico-subcortical (SC) projecting neurons, similar to other cortical brain areas. Through retrograde labeling, whole-cell patch-clamp recording, and morphological analysis, we thoroughly characterized their different electrophysiological and morphological properties. When examining the effects of peripheral inflammatory pain on these neuronal subtypes, we observed time-dependent plastic changes in excitability. During the acute phase, both subtypes exhibited reduced excitability, which normalized to pre-inflammatory levels after day 7. Daily conditioning with nociceptive stimuli during this period induced an increase in excitability specifically in SC neurons, which was correlated with a decrease in mechanical sensitization. Subsequent inhibition of the activity of SC neurons projecting to the periaqueductal gray with in vivo chemogenetics, resulted in reinstatement of the hypersensitivity. Accordingly, it was sufficient to enhance the excitability of these neurons chemogenetically in the inflammatory pain condition to induce hypoalgesia. These findings suggest a cell type-specific effect on the descending control of nociception and a cellular mechanism for pain-induced analgesia. Furthermore, increased excitability in this neuronal population is hypoalgesic rather than hyperalgesic.
Collapse
|
2
|
Suárez-Pereira I, López-Martín C, Camarena-Delgado C, Llorca-Torralba M, González-Saiz F, Ruiz R, Santiago M, Berrocoso E. Nerve Injury Triggers Time-dependent Activation of the Locus Coeruleus, Influencing Spontaneous Pain-like Behavior in Rats. Anesthesiology 2024; 141:131-150. [PMID: 38602502 DOI: 10.1097/aln.0000000000005006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dynamic changes in neuronal activity and in noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) projections have been proposed during the transition from acute to chronic pain. Thus, the authors explored the cellular cFos activity of the LC and its projections in conjunction with spontaneous pain-like behavior in neuropathic rats. METHODS Tyrosine hydroxylase:Cre and wild-type Long-Evans rats, males and females, were subjected to chronic constriction injury (CCI) for 2 (short-term, CCI-ST) or 30 days (long-term, CCI-LT), evaluating cFos and Fluoro-Gold expression in the LC, and its projections to the spinal cord (SC) and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). These tests were carried out under basal conditions (unstimulated) and after noxious mechanical stimulation. LC activity was evaluated through chemogenetic and pharmacologic approaches, as were its projections, in association with spontaneous pain-like behaviors. RESULTS CCI-ST enhanced basal cFos expression in the LC and in its projection to the SC, which increased further after noxious stimulation. Similar basal activation was found in the neurons projecting to the rACC, although this was not modified by stimulation. Strong basal cFos expression was found in CCI-LT, specifically in the projection to the rACC, which was again not modified by stimulation. No cFos expression was found in the CCI-LT LCipsilateral (ipsi)/contralateral (contra)→SC. Chemogenetics showed that CCI-ST is associated with greater spontaneous pain-like behavior when the LCipsi is blocked, or by selectively blocking the LCipsi→SC projection. Activation of the LCipsi or LCipsi/contra→SC dampened pain-like behavior. Moreover, Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs)-mediated inactivation of the CCI-ST LCipsi→rACC or CCI-LT LCipsi/contra→rACC pathway, or intra-rACC antagonism of α-adrenoreceptors, also dampens pain-like behavior. CONCLUSIONS In the short term, activation of the LC after CCI attenuates spontaneous pain-like behaviors via projections to the SC while increasing nociception via projections to the rACC. In the long term, only the projections from the LC to the rACC contribute to modulate pain-like behaviors in this model. EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Irene Suárez-Pereira
- Biomedical Research Networking Center for Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain; Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INIBICA), Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Carolina López-Martín
- Biomedical Research Networking Center for Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain; Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INIBICA), Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Carmen Camarena-Delgado
- Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INIBICA), Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Cádiz, Spain; IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy; Institute of Neuroscience (IN-CNR), National Research Council of Italy, Milan, Italy
| | - Meritxell Llorca-Torralba
- Biomedical Research Networking Center for Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INIBICA), Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Cádiz, Spain; Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Cell Biology and Histology, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Francisco González-Saiz
- Biomedical Research Networking Center for Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain; Community Mental Health Unit of Villamartin, University Hospital of Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Rocío Ruiz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Biomedicine of Sevilla (IBiS) - University Hospital Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Martiniano Santiago
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Biomedicine of Sevilla (IBiS) - University Hospital Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Esther Berrocoso
- Biomedical Research Networking Center for Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain; Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INIBICA), Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Cádiz, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kummer K, Sheets PL. Targeting Prefrontal Cortex Dysfunction in Pain. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2024; 389:268-276. [PMID: 38702195 PMCID: PMC11125798 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.123.002046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has justifiably become a significant focus of chronic pain research. Collectively, decades of rodent and human research have provided strong rationale for studying the dysfunction of the PFC as a contributing factor in the development and persistence of chronic pain and as a key supraspinal mechanism for pain-induced comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. Chronic pain alters the structure, chemistry, and connectivity of PFC in both humans and rodents. In this review, we broadly summarize the complexities of reported changes within both rodent and human PFC caused by pain and offer insight into potential pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches for targeting PFC to treat chronic pain and pain-associated comorbidities. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Chronic pain is a significant unresolved medical problem causing detrimental changes to physiological, psychological, and behavioral aspects of life. Drawbacks of currently approved pain therapeutics include incomplete efficacy and potential for abuse producing a critical need for novel approaches to treat pain and comorbid disorders. This review provides insight into how manipulation of prefrontal cortex circuits could address this unmet need of more efficacious and safer pain therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kai Kummer
- Institute of Physiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (K.K.); Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (P.L.S.), Medical Neurosciences Graduate Program (P.L.S.), and Stark Neurosciences Research Institute (P.L.S.), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Patrick L Sheets
- Institute of Physiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (K.K.); Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (P.L.S.), Medical Neurosciences Graduate Program (P.L.S.), and Stark Neurosciences Research Institute (P.L.S.), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Faig CA, Kim GHK, Do AD, Dworsky-Fried Z, Jackson J, Taylor AMW. Claustrum projections to the anterior cingulate modulate nociceptive and pain-associated behavior. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1987-1995.e4. [PMID: 38614081 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is critical for the perception and unpleasantness of pain.1,2,3,4,5,6 It receives nociceptive information from regions such as the thalamus and amygdala and projects to several cortical and subcortical regions of the pain neuromatrix.7,8 ACC hyperexcitability is one of many functional changes associated with chronic pain, and experimental activation of ACC pyramidal cells produces hypersensitivity to innocuous stimuli (i.e., allodynia).9,10,11,12,13,14 A less-well-studied projection to the ACC arises from a small forebrain region, the claustrum.15,16,17,18,19,20 Stimulation of excitatory claustrum projection neurons preferentially activates GABAergic interneurons, generating feed-forward inhibition onto excitatory cortical networks.21,22,23,24 Previous work has shown that claustrocingulate projections display altered activity in prolonged pain25,26,27; however, it remains unclear whether and how the claustrum participates in nociceptive processing and high-order pain behaviors. Inhibition of ACC activity reverses mechanical allodynia in animal models of persistent and neuropathic pain,1,9,28 suggesting claustrum inputs may function to attenuate pain processing. In this study, we sought to define claustrum function in acute and chronic pain. We found enhanced claustrum activity after a painful stimulus that was attenuated in chronic inflammatory pain. Selective inhibition of claustrocingulate projection neurons enhanced acute nociception but blocked pain learning. Inversely, chemogenetic activation of claustrocingulate neurons had no effect on basal nociception but rescued inflammation-induced mechanical allodynia. Together, these results suggest that claustrocingulate neurons are a critical component of the pain neuromatrix, and dysregulation of this connection may contribute to chronic pain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian A Faig
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, 8613 114 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada; Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, 11315 87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Gloria H K Kim
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, 11315 87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | - Alison D Do
- Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, 8613 114 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Zoë Dworsky-Fried
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, 8613 114 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Jesse Jackson
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, 11315 87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, 8613 114 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
| | - Anna M W Taylor
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, 8613 114 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada; Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, 11315 87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta, University of Alberta, 11315 87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Alberta, 8440 112 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Liu S(S, Pickens S, Barta Z, Rice M, Dagher M, Lebens R, Nguyen TV, Cummings BJ, Cahill CM. Neuroinflammation drives sex-dependent effects on pain and negative affect in a murine model of repeated mild traumatic brain injury. Pain 2024; 165:848-865. [PMID: 37943063 PMCID: PMC10949215 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 75% of reported cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are mild, where chronic pain and depression are 2 of the most common symptoms. In this study, we used a murine model of repeated mild TBI to characterize the associated pain hypersensitivity and affective-like behavior and to what extent microglial reactivity contributes to these behavioral phenotypes. Male and female C57BL/6J mice underwent sham or repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) and were tested for up to 9 weeks postinjury, where an anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective drug (minocycline) was introduced at 5 weeks postinjury in the drinking water. Repeated mild traumatic brain injury mice developed cold nociceptive hypersensitivity and negative affective states, as well as increased locomotor activity and risk-taking behavior. Minocycline reversed negative affect and pain hypersensitivities in male but not female mice. Repeated mild traumatic brain injury also produced an increase in microglial and brain-derived neurotropic factor mRNA transcripts in limbic structures known to be involved in nociception and affect, but many of these changes were sex dependent. Finally, we show that the antiepileptic drug, gabapentin, produced negative reinforcement in male rmTBI mice that was prevented by minocycline treatment, whereas rmTBI female mice showed a place aversion to gabapentin. Collectively, pain hypersensitivity, increased tonic-aversive pain components, and negative affective states were evident in both male and female rmTBI mice, but suppression of microglial reactivity was only sufficient to reverse behavioral changes in male mice. Neuroinflammation in limbic structures seems to be a contributing factor in behavioral changes resulting from rmTBI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shiwei (Steve) Liu
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Sarah Pickens
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Zack Barta
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Myra Rice
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Merel Dagher
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Ryan Lebens
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Theodore V. Nguyen
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Brian J. Cummings
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Catherine M. Cahill
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Li M, Yang G. A mesocortical glutamatergic pathway modulates neuropathic pain independent of dopamine co-release. Nat Commun 2024; 15:643. [PMID: 38245542 PMCID: PMC10799877 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45035-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction in the mesocortical pathway, connecting the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the prefrontal cortex, has been implicated in chronic pain. While extensive research has focused on the role of dopamine, the contribution of glutamatergic signaling in pain modulation remains unknown. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we observe diminished VTA glutamatergic activity targeting the prelimbic cortex (PL) in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Optogenetic activation of VTA glutamatergic terminals in the PL alleviates neuropathic pain, whereas inhibiting these terminals in naïve mice induces pain-like responses. Importantly, this pain-modulating effect is independent of dopamine co-release, as demonstrated by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene deletion. Furthermore, we show that VTA neurons primarily project to excitatory neurons in the PL, and their activation restores PL outputs to the anterior cingulate cortex, a key region involved in pain processing. These findings reveal a distinct mesocortical glutamatergic pathway that critically modulates neuropathic pain independent of dopamine signaling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Guang Yang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Xu Y, Zhu X, Chen Y, Chen Y, Zhu Y, Xiao S, Wu M, Wang Y, Zhang C, Wu Z, He X, Liu B, Shen Z, Shao X, Fang J. Electroacupuncture alleviates mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic neuropathic pain via regulating rostral anterior cingulate cortex-dorsal raphe nucleus neural circuit. CNS Neurosci Ther 2023; 29:4043-4058. [PMID: 37401033 PMCID: PMC10651964 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Epidemiological studies in patients with neuropathic pain have demonstrated a strong association between neuropathic pain and psychiatric conditions such as anxiety. Preclinical and clinical work has demonstrated that electroacupuncture (EA) effectively alleviates anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic neuropathic pain. In this study, a potential neural circuitry underlying the therapeutic action of EA was investigated. METHODS The effects of EA stimulation on mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors in animal models of spared nerve injury (SNI) were examined. EA plus chemogenetic manipulation of glutamatergic (Glu) neurons projecting from the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACCGlu ) to the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) was used to explore the changes of mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors in SNI mice. RESULTS Electroacupuncture significantly alleviated both mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors with increased activities of glutamatergic neurons in the rACC and serotoninergic neurons in the DRN. Chemogenetic activation of the rACCGlu -DRN projections attenuated both mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors in mice at day 14 after SNI. Chemogenetic inhibition of the rACCGlu -DRN pathway did not induce mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors under physiological conditions, but inhibiting this pathway produced anxiety-like behaviors in mice at day 7 after SNI; this effect was reversed by EA. EA plus activation of the rACCGlu -DRN circuit did not produce a synergistic effect on mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors. The analgesic and anxiolytic effects of EA could be blocked by inhibiting the rACCGlu -DRN pathway. CONCLUSIONS The role of rACCGlu -DRN circuit may be different during the progression of chronic neuropathic pain and these changes may be related to the serotoninergic neurons in the DRN. These findings describe a novel rACCGlu -DRN pathway through which EA exerts analgesic and anxiolytic effects in SNI mice exhibiting anxiety-like behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yingling Xu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain‐Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Liangzhu LaboratoryZhejiang University Medical CenterHangzhouChina
| | - Xixiao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yuerong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yeqing Chen
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yichen Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Siqi Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Mengwei Wu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yifang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Zenmin Wu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Xiaofen He
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Boyu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Zui Shen
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Xiaomei Shao
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Jianqiao Fang
- Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Neurology of Zhejiang ProvinceThe Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityHangzhouChina
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Jee HJ, Zhu E, Sun M, Liu W, Zhang Q, Wang J. Anterior cingulate cortex regulates pain catastrophizing-like behaviors in rats. Mol Brain 2023; 16:71. [PMID: 37833814 PMCID: PMC10576271 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-023-01060-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative pain expectation including pain catastrophizing is a well-known clinical phenomenon whereby patients amplify the aversive value of a painful or oftentimes even a similar, non-painful stimulus. Mechanisms of pain catastrophizing, however, remain elusive. Here, we modeled pain catastrophizing behavior in rats, and found that rats subjected to repeated noxious pin pricks on one paw demonstrated an aversive response to similar but non-noxious mechanical stimuli delivered to the contralateral paw. Optogenetic inhibition of pyramidal neuron activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during the application of repetitive noxious pin pricks eliminated this catastrophizing behavior. Time-lapse calcium (Ca2+) imaging in the ACC further revealed an increase in spontaneous neural activity after the delivery of noxious stimuli. Together these results suggest that the experience of repeated noxious stimuli may drive hyperactivity in the ACC, causing increased avoidance of subthreshold stimuli, and that reducing this hyperactivity may play a role in treating pain catastrophizing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Jung Jee
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Interdisciplinary Pain Research Program, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Elaine Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Mengqi Sun
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Weizhuo Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Qiaosheng Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Interdisciplinary Pain Research Program, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Interdisciplinary Pain Research Program, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Journée SH, Mathis VP, Fillinger C, Veinante P, Yalcin I. Janus effect of the anterior cingulate cortex: Pain and emotion. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105362. [PMID: 37595650 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, clinical and preclinical studies point to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a site of interest for several neurological and psychiatric conditions. The ACC plays a critical role in emotion, autonomic regulation, pain processing, attention, memory and decision making. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated the involvement of the ACC in the emotional component of pain and its comorbidity with emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression. Thanks to the development of animal models combined with state-of-the-art technologies, we now have a better mechanistic understanding of the functions of the ACC. Hence, the primary aim of this review is to compile the most recent preclinical studies on the role of ACC in the emotional component and consequences of chronic pain. Herein, we thus thoroughly describe the pain-induced electrophysiological, molecular and anatomical alterations in the ACC and in its related circuits. Finally, we discuss the next steps that are needed to strengthen our understanding of the involvement of the ACC in emotional and pain processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah H Journée
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Victor P Mathis
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Clémentine Fillinger
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre Veinante
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Ipek Yalcin
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France; Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Silva-Cardoso GK, Lazarini-Lopes W, Primini EO, Hallak JE, Crippa JA, Zuardi AW, Garcia-Cairasco N, Leite-Panissi CRA. Cannabidiol modulates chronic neuropathic pain aversion behavior by attenuation of neuroinflammation markers and neuronal activity in the corticolimbic circuit in male Wistar rats. Behav Brain Res 2023; 452:114588. [PMID: 37474023 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) is a vast world health problem often associated with the somatosensory domain. This conceptualization is problematic because, unlike most other sensations that are usually affectively neutral and may present emotional, affective, and cognitive impairments. Neuronal circuits that modulate pain can increase or decrease painful sensitivity based on several factors, including context and expectation. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether subchronic treatment with Cannabidiol (CBD; 0.3, 3, and 10 mg/kg intraperitoneal route - i.p., once a day for 3 days) could promote pain-conditioned reversal, in the conditioned place preference (CPP) test, in male Wistar rats submitted to chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. Then, we evaluated the expression of astrocytes and microglia in animals treated with CBD through the immunofluorescence technique. Our results demonstrated that CBD promoted the reversal of CPP at 3 and 10 mg/kg. In CCI animals, CBD was able to attenuate the increase in neuronal hyperactivity, measured by FosB protein expression, in the regions of the corticolimbic circuit: anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), complex basolateral amygdala (BLA), granular layer of the dentate gyrus (GrDG), and dorsal hippocampus (DH) - adjacent to subiculum (CA1). CBD also prevented the increased expression of GFAP and IBA-1 in CCI animals. We concluded that CBD effects on CNP are linked to the modulation of the aversive component of pain. These effects decrease chronic neuronal activation and inflammatory markers in regions of the corticolimbic circuit.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gleice K Silva-Cardoso
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Science and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM; CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Willian Lazarini-Lopes
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Octaviano Primini
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Science and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jaime E Hallak
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM; CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José A Crippa
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM; CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Antônio W Zuardi
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM; CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Norberto Garcia-Cairasco
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Physiology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Christie R A Leite-Panissi
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Science and Letters of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM; CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Neugebauer V, Presto P, Yakhnitsa V, Antenucci N, Mendoza B, Ji G. Pain-related cortico-limbic plasticity and opioid signaling. Neuropharmacology 2023; 231:109510. [PMID: 36944393 PMCID: PMC10585936 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
Neuroplasticity in cortico-limbic circuits has been implicated in pain persistence and pain modulation in clinical and preclinical studies. The amygdala has emerged as a key player in the emotional-affective dimension of pain and pain modulation. Reciprocal interactions with medial prefrontal cortical regions undergo changes in pain conditions. Other limbic and paralimbic regions have been implicated in pain modulation as well. The cortico-limbic system is rich in opioids and opioid receptors. Preclinical evidence for their pain modulatory effects in different regions of this highly interactive system, potentially opposing functions of different opioid receptors, and knowledge gaps will be described here. There is little information about cell type- and circuit-specific functions of opioid receptor subtypes related to pain processing and pain-related plasticity in the cortico-limbic system. The important role of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala in MOR-dependent analgesia is most well-established, and MOR actions in the mesolimbic system appear to be similar but remain to be determined in mPFC regions other than ACC. Evidence also suggests that KOR signaling generally serves opposing functions whereas DOR signaling in the ACC has similar, if not synergistic effects, to MOR. A unifying picture of pain-related neuronal mechanisms of opioid signaling in different elements of the cortico-limbic circuitry has yet to emerge. This article is part of the Special Issue on "Opioid-induced changes in addiction and pain circuits".
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Volker Neugebauer
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA; Center of Excellence for Translational Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA; Garrison Institute on Aging, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA.
| | - Peyton Presto
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Vadim Yakhnitsa
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Nico Antenucci
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Brianna Mendoza
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Guangchen Ji
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA; Center of Excellence for Translational Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Liang Y, Zhao Q, Hu Z, Bo K, Meyyappan S, Neubert JK, Ding M. Imaging the neural substrate of trigeminal neuralgia pain using deep learning. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1144159. [PMID: 37275345 PMCID: PMC10232768 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1144159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a severe and disabling facial pain condition and is characterized by intermittent, severe, electric shock-like pain in one (or more) trigeminal subdivisions. This pain can be triggered by an innocuous stimulus or can be spontaneous. Presently available therapies for TN include both surgical and pharmacological management; however, the lack of a known etiology for TN contributes to the unpredictable response to treatment and the variability in long-term clinical outcomes. Given this, a range of peripheral and central mechanisms underlying TN pain remain to be understood. We acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from TN patients who (1) rested comfortably in the scanner during a resting state session and (2) rated their pain levels in real time using a calibrated tracking ball-controlled scale in a pain tracking session. Following data acquisition, the data was analyzed using the conventional correlation analysis and two artificial intelligence (AI)-inspired deep learning methods: convolutional neural network (CNN) and graph convolutional neural network (GCNN). Each of the three methods yielded a set of brain regions related to the generation and perception of pain in TN. There were 6 regions that were identified by all three methods, including the superior temporal cortex, the insula, the fusiform, the precentral gyrus, the superior frontal gyrus, and the supramarginal gyrus. Additionally, 17 regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the thalamus, were identified by at least two of the three methods. Collectively, these 23 regions are taken to represent signature centers of TN pain and provide target areas for future studies seeking to understand the central mechanisms of TN.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Liang
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Qing Zhao
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Zhenhong Hu
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Ke Bo
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Sreenivasan Meyyappan
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - John K. Neubert
- Department of Orthodontics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Becker LJ, Fillinger C, Waegaert R, Journée SH, Hener P, Ayazgok B, Humo M, Karatas M, Thouaye M, Gaikwad M, Degiorgis L, Santin MDN, Mondino M, Barrot M, Ibrahim EC, Turecki G, Belzeaux R, Veinante P, Harsan LA, Hugel S, Lutz PE, Yalcin I. The basolateral amygdala-anterior cingulate pathway contributes to depression-like behaviors and comorbidity with chronic pain behaviors in male mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2198. [PMID: 37069164 PMCID: PMC10110607 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37878-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023] Open
Abstract
While depression and chronic pain are frequently comorbid, underlying neuronal circuits and their psychopathological relevance remain poorly defined. Here we show in mice that hyperactivity of the neuronal pathway linking the basolateral amygdala to the anterior cingulate cortex is essential for chronic pain-induced depression. Moreover, activation of this pathway in naive male mice, in the absence of on-going pain, is sufficient to trigger depressive-like behaviors, as well as transcriptomic alterations that recapitulate core molecular features of depression in the human brain. These alterations notably impact gene modules related to myelination and the oligodendrocyte lineage. Among these, we show that Sema4a, which was significantly upregulated in both male mice and humans in the context of altered mood, is necessary for the emergence of emotional dysfunction. Overall, these results place the amygdalo-cingulate pathway at the core of pain and depression comorbidity, and unravel the role of Sema4a and impaired myelination in mood control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Léa J Becker
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
- Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Clinical Pharmacology Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Clémentine Fillinger
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Robin Waegaert
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sarah H Journée
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre Hener
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Beyza Ayazgok
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Hacettepe, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Muris Humo
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Meltem Karatas
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
- Laboratory of Engineering, Informatics and Imaging (ICube), Integrative multimodal imaging in healthcare (IMIS), CNRS, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Maxime Thouaye
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mithil Gaikwad
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Laetitia Degiorgis
- Laboratory of Engineering, Informatics and Imaging (ICube), Integrative multimodal imaging in healthcare (IMIS), CNRS, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Marie des Neiges Santin
- Laboratory of Engineering, Informatics and Imaging (ICube), Integrative multimodal imaging in healthcare (IMIS), CNRS, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mary Mondino
- Laboratory of Engineering, Informatics and Imaging (ICube), Integrative multimodal imaging in healthcare (IMIS), CNRS, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Michel Barrot
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - El Chérif Ibrahim
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France
| | - Gustavo Turecki
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University and Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Raoul Belzeaux
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, INT, Inst Neurosci Timone, Marseille, France
- Department of Psychiatry, CHU de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Pierre Veinante
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Laura A Harsan
- Laboratory of Engineering, Informatics and Imaging (ICube), Integrative multimodal imaging in healthcare (IMIS), CNRS, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sylvain Hugel
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Eric Lutz
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ipek Yalcin
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Weinrich JA, Liu CD, Jewell ME, Andolina CR, Bernstein MX, Benitez J, Rodriguez-Rosado S, Braz JM, Maze M, Nemenov MI, Basbaum AI. Paradoxical increases in anterior cingulate cortex activity during nitrous oxide-induced analgesia reveal a signature of pain affect. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.03.534475. [PMID: 37066151 PMCID: PMC10104003 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.03.534475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
The general consensus is that increases in neuronal activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) contribute to pain's negative affect. Here, using in vivo imaging of neuronal calcium dynamics in mice, we report that nitrous oxide, a general anesthetic that reduces pain affect, paradoxically, increases ACC spontaneous activity. As expected, a noxious stimulus also increased ACC activity. However, as nitrous oxide increases baseline activity, the relative change in activity from pre-stimulus baseline was significantly less than the change in the absence of the general anesthetic. We suggest that this relative change in activity represents a neural signature of the affective pain experience. Furthermore, this signature of pain persists under general anesthesia induced by isoflurane, at concentrations in which the mouse is unresponsive. We suggest that this signature underlies the phenomenon of connected consciousness, in which use of the isolated forelimb technique revealed that pain percepts can persist in anesthetized patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jarret Ap Weinrich
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Cindy D Liu
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Madison E Jewell
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Christopher R Andolina
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Mollie X Bernstein
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jorge Benitez
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sian Rodriguez-Rosado
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Joao M Braz
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Mervyn Maze
- Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Mikhail I Nemenov
- Lasmed, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94035, USA
| | - Allan I Basbaum
- Department of Anatomy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Zhang Q, Hu S, Talay R, Xiao Z, Rosenberg D, Liu Y, Sun G, Li A, Caravan B, Singh A, Gould JD, Chen ZS, Wang J. A prototype closed-loop brain-machine interface for the study and treatment of pain. Nat Biomed Eng 2023; 7:533-545. [PMID: 34155354 PMCID: PMC9516430 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-021-00736-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Chronic pain is characterized by discrete pain episodes of unpredictable frequency and duration. This hinders the study of pain mechanisms and contributes to the use of pharmacological treatments associated with side effects, addiction and drug tolerance. Here, we show that a closed-loop brain-machine interface (BMI) can modulate sensory-affective experiences in real time in freely behaving rats by coupling neural codes for nociception directly with therapeutic cortical stimulation. The BMI decodes the onset of nociception via a state-space model on the basis of the analysis of online-sorted spikes recorded from the anterior cingulate cortex (which is critical for pain processing) and couples real-time pain detection with optogenetic activation of the prelimbic prefrontal cortex (which exerts top-down nociceptive regulation). In rats, the BMI effectively inhibited sensory and affective behaviours caused by acute mechanical or thermal pain, and by chronic inflammatory or neuropathic pain. The approach provides a blueprint for demand-based neuromodulation to treat sensory-affective disorders, and could be further leveraged for nociceptive control and to study pain mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiaosheng Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sile Hu
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Robert Talay
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zhengdong Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - David Rosenberg
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yaling Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Guanghao Sun
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anna Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bassir Caravan
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amrita Singh
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan D Gould
- College of Arts and Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zhe S Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Tang HD, Dong WY, Hu R, Huang JY, Huang ZH, Xiong W, Xue T, Liu J, Yu JM, Zhu X, Zhang Z. A neural circuit for the suppression of feeding under persistent pain. Nat Metab 2022; 4:1746-1755. [PMID: 36443522 DOI: 10.1038/s42255-022-00688-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In humans, persistent pain often leads to decreased appetite. However, the neural circuits underlying this behaviour remain unclear. Here, we show that a circuit arising from glutamatergic neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (GluACC) projects to glutamatergic neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area (GluLHA) to blunt food intake in a mouse model of persistent pain. In turn, these GluLHA neurons project to pro-opiomelanocortin neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (POMCArc), a well-known neuronal population involved in decreasing food intake. In vivo calcium imaging and multi-tetrode electrophysiological recordings reveal that the GluACC → GluLHA → Arc circuit is activated in mouse models of persistent pain and is accompanied by decreased feeding behaviour in both males and females. Inhibition of this circuit using chemogenetics can alleviate the feeding suppression symptoms. Our study indicates that the GluACC → GluLHA → Arc circuit is involved in driving the suppression of feeding under persistent pain through POMC neuronal activity. This previously unrecognized pathway could be explored as a potential target for pain-associated diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Di Tang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Wan-Ying Dong
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Rui Hu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Hefei), Hefei, China
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Ji-Ye Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Zhao-Huan Huang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology and Application, School of Information Science and Technology, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Wei Xiong
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Tian Xue
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Ji Liu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology and Application, School of Information Science and Technology, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, China.
| | - Jun-Ma Yu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Hefei), Hefei, China.
| | - Xia Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
| | - Zhi Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Cui Z, Guo Z, Wei L, Zou X, Zhu Z, Liu Y, Wang J, Chen L, Wang D, Ke Z. Altered pain sensitivity in 5×familial Alzheimer disease mice is associated with dendritic spine loss in anterior cingulate cortex pyramidal neurons. Pain 2022; 163:2138-2153. [PMID: 35384934 PMCID: PMC9578529 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Chronic pain is highly prevalent. Individuals with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer disease are a susceptible population in which pain is frequently difficult to diagnosis. It is still unclear whether the pathological changes in patients with Alzheimer disease will affect pain processing. Here, we leverage animal behavior, neural activity recording, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and Alzheimer disease modeling to examine the contribution of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) neurons to pain response. The 5× familial Alzheimer disease mice show alleviated mechanical allodynia which can be regained by the genetic activation of ACC excitatory neurons. Furthermore, the lower peak neuronal excitation, delayed response initiation, as well as the dendritic spine reduction of ACC pyramidal neurons in 5×familial Alzheimer disease mice can be mimicked by Rac1 or actin polymerization inhibitor in wild-type (WT) mice. These findings indicate that abnormal of pain sensitivity in Alzheimer disease modeling mice is closely related to the variation of neuronal activity and dendritic spine loss in ACC pyramidal neurons, suggesting the crucial role of dendritic spine density in pain processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyu Cui
- Academy of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Internal Medicine of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhongzhao Guo
- Academy of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Luyao Wei
- Academy of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiang Zou
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zilu Zhu
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuchen Liu
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jie Wang
- Academy of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Deheng Wang
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Zunji Ke
- Academy of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Orth L, Meeh J, Gur RC, Neuner I, Sarkheil P. Frontostriatal circuitry as a target for fMRI-based neurofeedback interventions: A systematic review. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:933718. [PMID: 36092647 PMCID: PMC9449529 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.933718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulated frontostriatal circuitries are viewed as a common target for the treatment of aberrant behaviors in various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Accordingly, experimental neurofeedback paradigms have been applied to modify the frontostriatal circuitry. The human frontostriatal circuitry is topographically and functionally organized into the “limbic,” the “associative,” and the “motor” subsystems underlying a variety of affective, cognitive, and motor functions. We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding functional magnetic resonance imaging-based neurofeedback studies that targeted brain activations within the frontostriatal circuitry. Seventy-nine published studies were included in our survey. We assessed the efficacy of these studies in terms of imaging findings of neurofeedback intervention as well as behavioral and clinical outcomes. Furthermore, we evaluated whether the neurofeedback targets of the studies could be assigned to the identifiable frontostriatal subsystems. The majority of studies that targeted frontostriatal circuitry functions focused on the anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the supplementary motor area. Only a few studies (n = 14) targeted the connectivity of the frontostriatal regions. However, post-hoc analyses of connectivity changes were reported in more cases (n = 32). Neurofeedback has been frequently used to modify brain activations within the frontostriatal circuitry. Given the regulatory mechanisms within the closed loop of the frontostriatal circuitry, the connectivity-based neurofeedback paradigms should be primarily considered for modifications of this system. The anatomical and functional organization of the frontostriatal system needs to be considered in decisions pertaining to the neurofeedback targets.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Orth
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Linda Orth
| | - Johanna Meeh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Irene Neuner
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Pegah Sarkheil
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Tu Y, Wang J, Xiong F, Gao F. Cortical abnormalities in patients with fibromyalgia: a pilot study of surface-based morphometry analysis. PAIN MEDICINE 2022; 23:1939-1946. [PMID: 35881694 DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnac101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 06/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although neuroanatomical studies correlated to fibromyalgia (FM) are gaining increasing interest, the cortical morphology of patients are largely unknown, and data on cortical gyrification are scarce. The objective of the present study is to assess the cortical morphology in female patients with FM compared with healthy controls (HC) using surface-based morphometry (SBM) analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS T1-MRIs and clinical data of 20 FM patients and 20 HC subjects were obtained from a public databset via OpenNeuro. For each subject, surface parameters including cortical thickness, local gyrification index (LGI), sulcal depth, and fractal dimensionality were estimated using SBM analysis. These data were compared between two groups controlled by age. The correlations between regional SBM parameters showing group differences and clinical profiles were analyzed. RESULTS Compared with HC subjects, FM patients showed reduced cortical thickness in right primary motor cortex, lower LGI in right rostral anterior cingulate and higher sulcal depth in right precuneus (p < 0.05 cluster level family- wise error corrected). In FM patients, correlation analysis showed that the cortical thickness in right primary motor cortex were inversely correlated with scores of pain catastrophizing scale (r = -0.498, p = 0.030) and pain self-perception scale (r = -0.527, p = 0.020), and disease duration (r = -0.488, p = 0.034), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide evidence of neuroanatomical aberrations in FM patients, which may provide insight into the neuropathology of FM.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ye Tu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jihong Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Fei Xiong
- Department of Radiology, PLA Central Theater General Hospital, Wuhan, China
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Abdus-Saboor I, Luo W. Measuring Mouse Somatosensory Reflexive Behaviors with High-speed Videography, Statistical Modeling, and Machine Learning. NEUROMETHODS 2022; 178:441-456. [PMID: 35783537 PMCID: PMC9249079 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2039-7_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Objectively measuring and interpreting an animal's sensory experience remains a challenging task. This is particularly true when using preclinical rodent models to study pain mechanisms and screen for potential new pain treatment reagents. How to determine their pain states in a precise and unbiased manner is a hurdle that the field will need to overcome. Here, we describe our efforts to measure mouse somatosensory reflexive behaviors with greatly improved precision by high-speed video imaging. We describe how coupling sub-second ethograms of reflexive behaviors with a statistical reduction method and supervised machine learning can be used to create a more objective quantitative mouse "pain scale." Our goal is to provide the readers with a protocol of how to integrate some of the new tools described here with currently used mechanical somatosensory assays, while discussing the advantages and limitations of this new approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 3740 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Wenqin Luo
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, 3610 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
The BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex is involved in the development of pain aversion in rats with bone cancer via NR2B and ERK-CREB signaling. Brain Res Bull 2022; 185:18-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
22
|
Chronic facial inflammatory pain-induced anxiety is associated with bilateral deactivation of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Brain Res Bull 2022; 184:88-98. [PMID: 35339627 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Patients with chronic pain, especially orofacial pain, often suffer from affective disorders, including anxiety. Previous studies largely focused on the role of the caudal anterior cingulate cortex (cACC) in affective responses to pain, long-term potentiation (LTP) in cACC being thought to mediate the interaction between anxiety and chronic pain. But recent evidence indicates that the rostral ACC (rACC), too, is implicated in processing affective pain. However, whether such processing is associated with neuronal and/or synaptic plasticity is still unknown. We addressed this issue in a chronic facial inflammatory pain model (complete Freund's adjuvant model) in rats, by combining behavior, Fos protein immunochemistry and ex vivo intracellular recordings in rACC slices prepared from these animals. Facial mechanical allodynia occurs immediately after CFA injection, peaks at post-injection day 3 and progressively recovers until post-injection days 10-11, whereas anxiety is delayed, being present at post-injection day 10, when sensory hypersensitivity is relieved, but, notably, not at post-injection day 3. Fos expression reveals that neuronal activity follows a bi-phasic time course in bilateral rACC: first enhanced at post-injection day 3, it gets strongly depressed at post-injection day 10. Ex vivo recordings from lamina V pyramidal neurons, the rACC projecting neurons, show that both their intrinsic excitability and excitatory synaptic inputs have undergone long-term depression (LTD) at post-injection day 10. Thus chronic pain processing is associated with dynamic changes in rACC activity: first enhanced and subsequently decreased, at the time of anxiety-like behavior. Chronic pain-induced anxiety might thus result from a rACC deactivation-cACC hyperactivation interplay.
Collapse
|
23
|
Ma Q. A functional subdivision within the somatosensory system and its implications for pain research. Neuron 2022; 110:749-769. [PMID: 35016037 PMCID: PMC8897275 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Somatosensory afferents are traditionally classified by soma size, myelination, and their response specificity to external and internal stimuli. Here, we propose the functional subdivision of the nociceptive somatosensory system into two branches. The exteroceptive branch detects external threats and drives reflexive-defensive reactions to prevent or limit injury. The interoceptive branch senses the disruption of body integrity, produces tonic pain with strong aversive emotional components, and drives self-caring responses toward to the injured region to reduce suffering. The central thesis behind this functional subdivision comes from a reflection on the dilemma faced by the pain research field, namely, the use of reflexive-defensive behaviors as surrogate assays for interoceptive tonic pain. The interpretation of these assays is now being challenged by the discovery of distinct but interwoven circuits that drive exteroceptive versus interoceptive types of behaviors, with the conflation of these two components contributing partially to the poor translation of therapies from preclinical studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiufu Ma
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Time-Dependent Changes in Protein Composition of Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Rats with Neuropathic Pain. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23020955. [PMID: 35055141 PMCID: PMC8781622 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23020955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain is associated with time-dependent structural and functional reorganization of the prefrontal cortex that may reflect adaptive pain compensatory and/or maladaptive pain-promoting mechanisms. However, the molecular underpinnings of these changes and whether there are time-dependent relationships to pain progression are not well characterized. In this study, we analyzed protein composition in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats at two timepoints after spinal nerve ligation (SNL) using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-ELFO) and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). SNL, but not sham-operated, rats developed persistent tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, confirming the presence of experimental neuropathic pain. Two weeks after SNL (early timepoint), we identified 11 proteins involved in signal transduction, protein transport, cell homeostasis, metabolism, and apoptosis, as well as heat-shock proteins and chaperones that were upregulated by more than 1.5-fold compared to the sham-operated rats. Interestingly, there were only four significantly altered proteins identified at 8 weeks after SNL (late timepoint). These findings demonstrate extensive time-dependent modifications of protein expression in the rat mPFC under a chronic neuropathic pain state that might underlie the evolution of chronic pain characterized by early pain-compensatory and later aberrant mechanisms.
Collapse
|
25
|
Lubejko ST, Graham RD, Livrizzi G, Schaefer R, Banghart MR, Creed MC. The role of endogenous opioid neuropeptides in neurostimulation-driven analgesia. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:1044686. [PMID: 36591324 PMCID: PMC9794630 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.1044686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the prevalence of chronic pain worldwide, there is an urgent need to improve pain management strategies. While opioid drugs have long been used to treat chronic pain, their use is severely limited by adverse effects and abuse liability. Neurostimulation techniques have emerged as a promising option for chronic pain that is refractory to other treatments. While different neurostimulation strategies have been applied to many neural structures implicated in pain processing, there is variability in efficacy between patients, underscoring the need to optimize neurostimulation techniques for use in pain management. This optimization requires a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying neurostimulation-induced pain relief. Here, we discuss the most commonly used neurostimulation techniques for treating chronic pain. We present evidence that neurostimulation-induced analgesia is in part driven by the release of endogenous opioids and that this endogenous opioid release is a common endpoint between different methods of neurostimulation. Finally, we introduce technological and clinical innovations that are being explored to optimize neurostimulation techniques for the treatment of pain, including multidisciplinary efforts between neuroscience research and clinical treatment that may refine the efficacy of neurostimulation based on its underlying mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susan T. Lubejko
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Robert D. Graham
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Center, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Giulia Livrizzi
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Robert Schaefer
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Center, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Matthew R. Banghart
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Matthew R. Banghart,
| | - Meaghan C. Creed
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Center, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Meaghan C. Creed,
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Kimmey BA, McCall NM, Wooldridge LM, Satterthwaite T, Corder G. Engaging endogenous opioid circuits in pain affective processes. J Neurosci Res 2022; 100:66-98. [PMID: 33314372 PMCID: PMC8197770 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The pervasive use of opioid compounds for pain relief is rooted in their utility as one of the most effective therapeutic strategies for providing analgesia. While the detrimental side effects of these compounds have significantly contributed to the current opioid epidemic, opioids still provide millions of patients with reprieve from the relentless and agonizing experience of pain. The human experience of pain has long recognized the perceived unpleasantness entangled with a unique sensation that is immediate and identifiable from the first-person subjective vantage point as "painful." From this phenomenological perspective, how is it that opioids interfere with pain perception? Evidence from human lesion, neuroimaging, and preclinical functional neuroanatomy approaches is sculpting the view that opioids predominately alleviate the affective or inferential appraisal of nociceptive neural information. Thus, opioids weaken pain-associated unpleasantness rather than modulate perceived sensory qualities. Here, we discuss the historical theories of pain to demonstrate how modern neuroscience is revisiting these ideas to deconstruct the brain mechanisms driving the emergence of aversive pain perceptions. We further detail how targeting opioidergic signaling within affective or emotional brain circuits remains a strong avenue for developing targeted pharmacological and gene-therapy analgesic treatments that might reduce the dependence on current clinical opioid options.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Blake A. Kimmey
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Equal contributions
| | - Nora M. McCall
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Equal contributions
| | - Lisa M. Wooldridge
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Theodore Satterthwaite
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Gregory Corder
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Mo J, Zhang J, Hu W, Luo F, Zhang K. Whole-brain morphological alterations associated with trigeminal neuralgia. J Headache Pain 2021; 22:95. [PMID: 34388960 PMCID: PMC8362283 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-021-01308-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Novel neuroimaging strategies have the potential to offer new insights into the mechanistic basis for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The present study aims to conduct whole-brain morphometry analyses of TN patients and to assess the value of group-level neocortical and subcortical structural patterns as tools for diagnostic biomarker exploration. Methods Cortical thickness, surface area, and myelin levels in the neocortex were measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The radial distance and the Jacobian determinant of the subcortex in 43 TN patients and 43 matched controls were compared. Pattern learning algorithms were employed to establish the utility of group-level MRI findings as tools for predicting TN. An additional 40 control patients with hemifacial spasms were then evaluated to assess algorithm sensitivity and specificity. Results TN patients exhibited reductions in cortical indices in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the midcingulate cortex (MCC), and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) relative to controls. They further presented with widespread subcortical volume reduction that was most evident in the putamen, the thalamus, the accumbens, the pallidum, and the hippocampus. Whole brain-level morphological alterations successfully enable automated TN diagnosis with high specificity (TN: 95.35 %; disease controls: 46.51 %). Conclusions TN is associated with a distinctive whole-brain structural neuroimaging pattern, underscoring the value of machine learning as an approach to differentiating between morphological phenotypes, ultimately revealing the full spectrum of this disease and highlighting relevant diagnostic biomarkers. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-021-01308-5.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiajie Mo
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, 100070, Beijing, China
| | - Jianguo Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, 100070, Beijing, China
| | - Wenhan Hu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, 100070, Beijing, China
| | - Fang Luo
- Department of Pain Management, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, 100070, Beijing, China.
| | - Kai Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, China. .,Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, 100070, Beijing, China.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Draxler P, Moen A, Galek K, Boghos A, Ramazanova D, Sandkühler J. Spontaneous, Voluntary, and Affective Behaviours in Rat Models of Pathological Pain. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2021; 2:672711. [PMID: 35295455 PMCID: PMC8915731 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2021.672711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In pain patients affective and motivational reactions as well as impairment of daily life activities dominate the clinical picture. In contrast, many rodent pain models have been established on the basis of mechanical hypersensitivity testing. Up to today most rodent studies on pain still rely on reflexive withdrawal responses only. This discrepancy has likely contributed to the low predictive power of preclinical pain models for novel therapies. Here, we used a behavioural test array for rats to behaviourally evaluate five aetiologically distinct pain models consisting of inflammatory-, postsurgical-, cephalic-, neuropathic- and chemotherapy-induced pain. We assessed paralleling clinical expressions and comorbidities of chronic pain with an array of behavioural tests to assess anxiety, social interaction, distress, depression, and voluntary/spontaneous behaviours. Pharmacological treatment of the distinct pain conditions was performed with pathology-specific and clinically efficacious analgesics as gabapentin, sumatriptan, naproxen, and codeine. We found that rats differed in their manifestation of symptoms depending on the pain model and that pathology-specific analgesics also reduced the associated behavioural parameters. Based on all behavioural test performed, we screened for tests that can discriminate experimental groups on the basis of reflexive as well as non-sensory, affective parameters. Together, we propose a set of non-evoked behaviours with a comparable predictive power to mechanical threshold testing for each pain model.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Draxler
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aurora Moen
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karolina Galek
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ani Boghos
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dariga Ramazanova
- Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems (CeMSIIS) Section for Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jürgen Sandkühler
- Division of Neurophysiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Tan LL, Oswald MJ, Kuner R. Neurobiology of brain oscillations in acute and chronic pain. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:629-642. [PMID: 34176645 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Pain is a complex perceptual phenomenon. Coordinated activity among local and distant brain networks is a central element of the neural underpinnings of pain. Brain oscillatory rhythms across diverse frequency ranges provide a functional substrate for coordinating activity across local neuronal ensembles and anatomically distant brain areas in pain networks. This review addresses parallels between insights from human and rodent analyses of oscillatory rhythms in acute and chronic pain and discusses recent rodent-based studies that have shed light on mechanistic underpinnings of brain oscillatory dynamics in pain-related behaviors. We highlight the potential for therapeutic modulation of oscillatory rhythms, and identify outstanding questions and challenges to be addressed in future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linette Liqi Tan
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Manfred Josef Oswald
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rohini Kuner
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Neural Plasticity in the Brain during Neuropathic Pain. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9060624. [PMID: 34072638 PMCID: PMC8228570 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9060624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropathic pain is an intractable chronic pain, caused by damage to the somatosensory nervous system. To date, treatment for neuropathic pain has limited effects. For the development of efficient therapeutic methods, it is essential to fully understand the pathological mechanisms of neuropathic pain. Besides abnormal sensitization in the periphery and spinal cord, accumulating evidence suggests that neural plasticity in the brain is also critical for the development and maintenance of this pain. Recent technological advances in the measurement and manipulation of neuronal activity allow us to understand maladaptive plastic changes in the brain during neuropathic pain more precisely and modulate brain activity to reverse pain states at the preclinical and clinical levels. In this review paper, we discuss the current understanding of pathological neural plasticity in the four pain-related brain areas: the primary somatosensory cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, the periaqueductal gray, and the basal ganglia. We also discuss potential treatments for neuropathic pain based on the modulation of neural plasticity in these brain areas.
Collapse
|
31
|
Neumann E, Küpfer L, Zeilhofer HU. The α2/α3GABAA receptor modulator TPA023B alleviates not only the sensory but also the tonic affective component of chronic pain in mice. Pain 2021; 162:421-431. [PMID: 32773599 PMCID: PMC7808355 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Diminished synaptic inhibition in the spinal dorsal horn is a major contributor to pathological pain syndromes of neuropathic or inflammatory origin. Drugs that enhance the activity of dorsal horn α2/α3GABAARs normalize exaggerated nociceptive responses in rodents with neuropathic nerve lesions or peripheral inflammation but lack most of the typical side effects of less specific GABAergic drugs. It is however still unknown whether such drugs also reduce the clinically more relevant conscious perception of pain. Here, we investigated the effects of the α2/α3GABAAR subtype-selective modulator TPA023B on the tonic aversive component of pain in mice with peripheral inflammation or neuropathy. In neuropathic mice with a chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve, TPA023B not only reversed hyperalgesia to tactile and heat stimuli but also was highly effective in the conditioned place preference test. In the formalin test, TPA023B not only reduced licking of the injected paw but also reversed facial pain expression scores in the mouse grimace scale assay. Taken together, our results demonstrate that α2/α3GABAA receptor subtype-selective modulators not only reduce nociceptive withdrawal responses but also alleviate the tonic aversive components of chronic pain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elena Neumann
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Laura Küpfer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Drug Discovery Network Zurich (DDNZ), University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Cortical Modulation of Nociception. Neuroscience 2021; 458:256-270. [PMID: 33465410 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Nociception is the neuronal process of encoding noxious stimuli and could be modulated at peripheral, spinal, brainstem, and cortical levels. At cortical levels, several areas including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO), insular cortex (IC), motor cortex (MC), and somatosensory cortices are involved in nociception modulation through two main mechanisms: (i) a descending modulatory effect at spinal level by direct corticospinal projections or mostly by activation of brainstem structures (i.e. periaqueductal grey matter (PAG), locus coeruleus (LC), the nucleus of raphe (RM) and rostroventral medulla (RVM)); and by (ii) cortico-cortical or cortico-subcortical interactions. This review summarizes evidence related to the participation of the aforementioned cortical areas in nociception modulation and different neurotransmitters or neuromodulators that have been studied in each area. Besides, we point out the importance of considering intracortical neuronal populations and receptors expression, as well as, nociception-induced cortical changes, both functional and connectional, to better understand this modulatory effect. Finally, we discuss the possible mechanisms that could potentiate the use of cortical stimulation as a promising procedure in pain alleviation.
Collapse
|
33
|
Wang L, Hou K, Wang H, Fu F, Yu L. Role of mu-opioid receptor in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex of rats. Mol Pain 2020; 16:1744806920966144. [PMID: 33108956 PMCID: PMC7607811 DOI: 10.1177/1744806920966144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lots of studies have demonstrated that anterior cingulate cortex plays important roles in the pain perception and pain modulation. The present study explored the role of mu-opioid receptor in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain model was set up by chronic constriction injury of the left sciatic nerve of rats. The hindpaw withdrawal latency to thermal and mechanical stimulation, by hot plate and Randall Selitto Test respectively, was used to evaluate the rat’s responses to noxious stimulation. Results showed that intra-anterior cingulate cortex injection of morphine could induce the antinociception dose-dependently. By intra-anterior cingulate cortex injection of opioid receptor antagonist, the morphine-induced antinociception could be attenuated by naloxone, as well as much significantly by the selective mu-opioid receptor antagonist β-funaltrexamine, indicating that mu-opioid receptor is involved in the morphine-induced antinociception in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain. The morphine-induced antinociception was much more decreased in rats with neuropathic pain than that in normal rats, and there was a significant decrease in mu-opioid receptor messenger RNA levels in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain, indicating that there may be a down-regulation in mu-opioid receptor expression in anterior cingulate cortex of rats with neuropathic pain. To further confirm the role of mu-opioid receptor in morphine-induced antinociception in anterior cingulate cortex, normal rats were received intra-anterior cingulate cortex administration of small interfering RNA targeting mu-opioid receptor and it was found that there was a down-regulation in mu-opioid receptor messenger RNA levels, as well as a down-regulation in mu-opioid receptor expression in anterior cingulate cortex tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Furthermore, the morphine-induced antinociceptive effect decreased significantly in rats with small interfering RNA targeting mu-opioid receptor, which indicated that knockdown mu-opioid receptor in anterior cingulate cortex could also attenuate morphine-induced antinociceptive effect. These results strongly suggest that mu-opioid receptor plays a significant role in nociceptive modulation in anterior cingulate cortex of rats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linlin Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation (Yantai University), Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Drug Delivery System and Biotech Drugs in Universities of Shandong, Yantai University, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Kesai Hou
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation (Yantai University), Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Drug Delivery System and Biotech Drugs in Universities of Shandong, Yantai University, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Hongbo Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation (Yantai University), Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Drug Delivery System and Biotech Drugs in Universities of Shandong, Yantai University, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Fenghua Fu
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation (Yantai University), Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Drug Delivery System and Biotech Drugs in Universities of Shandong, Yantai University, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Longchuan Yu
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation (Yantai University), Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Drug Delivery System and Biotech Drugs in Universities of Shandong, Yantai University, Yantai, P.R. China.,Neurobiology Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Chronicling changes in the somatosensory neurons after peripheral nerve injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:26414-26421. [PMID: 33020310 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1922618117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Current drug discovery efforts focus on identifying lead compounds acting on a molecular target associated with an established pathological state. Concerted molecular changes that occur in specific cell types during disease progression have generally not been identified. Here, we used constellation pharmacology to investigate rat dorsal root ganglion neurons using two models of peripheral nerve injury: chronic constriction injury (CCI) and spinal nerve ligation (SNL). In these well-established models of neuropathic pain, we show that the onset of chronic pain is accompanied by a dramatic, previously unreported increase in the number of bradykinin-responsive neurons, with larger increases observed after SNL relative to CCI. To define the neurons with altered expression, we charted the temporal course of molecular changes following 1, 3, 6, and 14 d after SNL injury and demonstrated that specific molecular changes have different time courses during the progression to a pain state. In particular, ATP receptors up-regulated on day 1 postinjury, whereas the increase in bradykinin receptors was gradual after day 3 postinjury. We specifically tracked changes in two subsets of neurons: peptidergic and nonpeptidergic nociceptors. Significant increases occurred in ATP responses in nAChR-expressing isolectin B4+ nonpeptidergic neurons 1 d postinjury, whereas peptidergic neurons did not display any significant change. We propose that remodeling of ion channels and receptors occurs in a concerted and cell-specific manner, resulting in the appearance of bradykinin-responsive neuronal subclasses that are relevant to chronic pain.
Collapse
|
35
|
Friesner ID, Martinez E, Zhou H, Gould JD, Li A, Chen ZS, Zhang Q, Wang J. Ketamine normalizes high-gamma power in the anterior cingulate cortex in a rat chronic pain model. Mol Brain 2020; 13:129. [PMID: 32967695 PMCID: PMC7513294 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-020-00670-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain alters cortical and subcortical plasticity, causing enhanced sensory and affective responses to peripheral nociceptive inputs. Previous studies have shown that ketamine had the potential to inhibit abnormally amplified affective responses of single neurons by suppressing hyperactivity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, the mechanism of this enduring effect has yet to be understood at the network level. In this study, we recorded local field potentials from the ACC of freely moving rats. Animals were injected with complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) to induce persistent inflammatory pain. Mechanical stimulations were administered to the hind paw before and after CFA administration. We found a significant increase in the high-gamma band (60–100 Hz) power in response to evoked pain after CFA treatment. Ketamine, however, reduced the high-gamma band power in response to evoked pain in CFA-treated rats. In addition, ketamine had a sustained effect on the high-gamma band power lasting up to five days after a single dose administration. These results demonstrate that ketamine has the potential to alter maladaptive neural responses in the ACC induced by chronic pain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabel D Friesner
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Erik Martinez
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Haocheng Zhou
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | | | - Anna Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Zhe Sage Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.,Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Qiaosheng Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA. .,Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Sham surgeries for central and peripheral neural injuries persistently enhance pain-avoidance behavior as revealed by an operant conflict test. Pain 2020; 160:2440-2455. [PMID: 31323014 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Studies using rodent models of neuropathic pain use sham surgery control procedures that cause deep tissue damage. Sham surgeries would thus be expected to induce potentially long-lasting postsurgical pain, but little evidence for such pain has been reported. Operant tests of voluntary behavior can reveal negative motivational and cognitive aspects of pain that may provide sensitive tools for detecting pain-related alterations. In a previously described operant mechanical conflict test involving lengthy familiarization and training, rodents freely choose to either escape from a brightly lit chamber by crossing sharp probes or refuse to cross. Here, we describe a brief (2-day) mechanical conflict protocol that exploits rats' innate exploratory response to a novel environment to detect persistently enhanced pain-avoidance behavior after sham surgeries for 2 neural injury models: thoracic spinal cord injury and chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve. Pitting the combined motivations to avoid the bright light and to explore the novel device against pain from crossing noxious probes disclosed a conflicting, hyperalgesia-related reluctance to repeatedly cross the probes after injury. Rats receiving standard sham surgeries demonstrated enhanced pain-like avoidance behavior compared with naive controls, and this behavior was similar to that of corresponding chronic constriction injury or spinal cord injury rats weeks or months after injury. In the case of sham surgery for spinal cord injury, video analysis of voluntary exploratory behavior directed at the probes revealed enhanced forepaw withdrawal responses. These findings have important implications for preclinical investigations into behavioral alterations and physiological mechanisms associated with postsurgical and neuropathic pain.
Collapse
|
37
|
Okine BN, Mc Laughlin G, Gaspar JC, Harhen B, Roche M, Finn DP. Antinociceptive Effects of the GPR55 Antagonist CID16020046 Injected into the Rat Anterior Cingulate Cortex. Neuroscience 2020; 443:19-29. [PMID: 32673629 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The G-protein coupled receptor, GPR55, modulates nociceptive processing. Given the expression of GPR55 in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a key brain region involved in the cognitive and affective dimensions of pain, the present study tested the hypothesis that GPR55 signalling in the ACC facilitates inflammatory pain behaviour in rats. The expression of GPR55 in the ACC was confirmed by both western blotting and immunostaining, with evidence for neuronal localisation. Microinjection of the selective GPR55 antagonist CID16020046 into the ACC of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats significantly reduced second phase formalin-evoked nociceptive behaviour compared with vehicle-treated controls. CID16020046 administration was associated with a reduction in phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), a downstream target of GPR55 activation, in the ACC. Intra-ACC administration of CID16020046 prevented the formalin-induced increases in expression of mRNA coding for the immediate early gene and marker of neuronal activity, c-Fos, in the ipsilateral dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Intra-plantar injection of formalin reduced tissue levels of the endogenous GPR55 ligand 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoinositol (2-AGPI) in the ACC, likely reflecting its increased release/utilisation. These data suggest that endogenous activation of GPR55 signalling and increased ERK phosphorylation in the ACC facilitates inflammatory pain via top-down modulation of descending pain control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bright N Okine
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland; Galway Neuroscience Centre and Centre for Pain Research, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
| | - Gemma Mc Laughlin
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
| | - Jessica C Gaspar
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland; Galway Neuroscience Centre and Centre for Pain Research, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
| | - Brendan Harhen
- Galway Neuroscience Centre and Centre for Pain Research, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
| | - Michelle Roche
- Physiology, School of Medicine, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland; Galway Neuroscience Centre and Centre for Pain Research, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland
| | - David P Finn
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland; Galway Neuroscience Centre and Centre for Pain Research, NCBES, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Kummer KK, Mitrić M, Kalpachidou T, Kress M. The Medial Prefrontal Cortex as a Central Hub for Mental Comorbidities Associated with Chronic Pain. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E3440. [PMID: 32414089 PMCID: PMC7279227 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21103440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain patients frequently develop and suffer from mental comorbidities such as depressive mood, impaired cognition, and other significant constraints of daily life, which can only insufficiently be overcome by medication. The emotional and cognitive components of pain are processed by the medial prefrontal cortex, which comprises the anterior cingulate cortex, the prelimbic, and the infralimbic cortex. All three subregions are significantly affected by chronic pain: magnetic resonance imaging has revealed gray matter loss in all these areas in chronic pain conditions. While the anterior cingulate cortex appears hyperactive, prelimbic, and infralimbic regions show reduced activity. The medial prefrontal cortex receives ascending, nociceptive input, but also exerts important top-down control of pain sensation: its projections are the main cortical input of the periaqueductal gray, which is part of the descending inhibitory pain control system at the spinal level. A multitude of neurotransmitter systems contributes to the fine-tuning of the local circuitry, of which cholinergic and GABAergic signaling are particularly emerging as relevant components of affective pain processing within the prefrontal cortex. Accordingly, factors such as distraction, positive mood, and anticipation of pain relief such as placebo can ameliorate pain by affecting mPFC function, making this cortical area a promising target region for medical as well as psychosocial interventions for pain therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Michaela Kress
- Institute of Physiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (K.K.K.); (M.M.); (T.K.)
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
van Heukelum S, Mars RB, Guthrie M, Buitelaar JK, Beckmann CF, Tiesinga PHE, Vogt BA, Glennon JC, Havenith MN. Where is Cingulate Cortex? A Cross-Species View. Trends Neurosci 2020; 43:285-299. [PMID: 32353333 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2020.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
To compare findings across species, neuroscience relies on cross-species homologies, particularly in terms of brain areas. For cingulate cortex, a structure implicated in behavioural adaptation and control, a homologous definition across mammals is available - but currently not employed by most rodent researchers. The standard partitioning of rodent cingulate cortex is inconsistent with that in any other model species, including humans. Reviewing the existing literature, we show that the homologous definition better aligns results of rodent studies with those of other species, and reveals a clearer structural and functional organisation within rodent cingulate cortex itself. Based on these insights, we call for widespread adoption of the homologous nomenclature, and reinterpretation of previous studies originally based on the nonhomologous partitioning of rodent cingulate cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina van Heukelum
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Martin Guthrie
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan K Buitelaar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Christian F Beckmann
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Paul H E Tiesinga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Brent A Vogt
- Cingulum Neurosciences Institute, 4435 Stephanie Drive, Manlius, NY 13104, USA; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Glennon
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Martha N Havenith
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Zero-Noise Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, 60528 Frankfurt a.M., Germany
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
The projections from the anterior cingulate cortex to the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area contribute to neuropathic pain-evoked aversion in rats. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 140:104862. [PMID: 32251841 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a vital role in neuropathic pain-related aversion, the underlying mechanisms haven't been fully studied. The mesolimbic dopamine system encodes reward and aversion, and participates in the exacerbation of chronic pain. Therefore, we investigated whether the ACC modulates aversion to neuropathic pain via control of the mesolimbic dopamine system, in a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI) to the sciatic nerve. Using anterograde and retrograde tracings, we confirmed that a subgroup of ACC neurons projected to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), which are two crucial nodes of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Combining electrophysiology in juvenile rats 7 days post-CCI, we found that the NAc/VTA-projecting neurons were hyperexcitable after CCI. Chemogenetic inhibition of these projections induced conditioned place preference in young adult rats 10-14 days post-CCI, without modulating the evoked pain threshold, whereas activation of these projections in sham rats mimicked aversive behavior. Furthermore, the function of the ACC projections was probably mediated by NAc D2-type medium spiny neurons and VTA GABAergic neurons. Taken together, our findings suggest that projections from the ACC to the NAc and VTA mediate neuropathic pain-related aversive behavior.
Collapse
|
41
|
Singh A, Patel D, Li A, Hu L, Zhang Q, Liu Y, Guo X, Robinson E, Martinez E, Doan L, Rudy B, Chen ZS, Wang J. Mapping Cortical Integration of Sensory and Affective Pain Pathways. Curr Biol 2020; 30:1703-1715.e5. [PMID: 32220320 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Pain is an integrated sensory and affective experience. Cortical mechanisms of sensory and affective integration, however, remain poorly defined. Here, we investigate the projection from the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), which encodes the sensory pain information, to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a key area for processing pain affect, in freely behaving rats. By using a combination of optogenetics, in vivo electrophysiology, and machine learning analysis, we find that a subset of neurons in the ACC receives S1 inputs, and activation of the S1 axon terminals increases the response to noxious stimuli in ACC neurons. Chronic pain enhances this cortico-cortical connection, as manifested by an increased number of ACC neurons that respond to S1 inputs and the magnified contribution of these neurons to the nociceptive response in the ACC. Furthermore, modulation of this S1→ACC projection regulates aversive responses to pain. Our results thus define a cortical circuit that plays a potentially important role in integrating sensory and affective pain signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amrita Singh
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Divya Patel
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Anna Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Lizbeth Hu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Qiaosheng Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Yaling Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Xinling Guo
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Eric Robinson
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Erik Martinez
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Lisa Doan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Bernardo Rudy
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Zhe S Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Quindlen-Hotek JC, Kent AR, De Anda P, Kartha S, Benison AM, Winkelstein BA. Changes in Neuronal Activity in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Primary Somatosensory Cortex With Nonlinear Burst and Tonic Spinal Cord Stimulation. Neuromodulation 2020; 23:594-604. [PMID: 32027444 DOI: 10.1111/ner.13116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Although nonlinear burst and tonic SCS are believed to treat neuropathic pain via distinct pain pathways, the effectiveness of these modalities on brain activity in vivo has not been investigated. This study compared neuronal firing patterns in the brain after nonlinear burst and tonic SCS in a rat model of painful radiculopathy. METHODS Neuronal activity was recorded in the ACC or S1 before and after nonlinear burst or tonic SCS on day 7 following painful cervical nerve root compression (NRC) or sham surgery. The amplitude of nonlinear burst SCS was set at 60% and 90% motor threshold to investigate the effect of lower amplitude SCS on brain activity. Neuronal activity was recorded during and immediately following light brush and noxious pinch of the paw. Change in neuron firing was measured as the percent change in spikes post-SCS relative to pre-SCS baseline. RESULTS ACC activity decreases during brush after 60% nonlinear burst compared to tonic (p < 0.05) after NRC and compared to 90% nonlinear burst (p < 0.04) and pre-SCS baseline (p < 0.03) after sham. ACC neuron activity decreases (p < 0.01) during pinch after 60% and 90% nonlinear burst compared to tonic for NRC. The 60% of nonlinear burst decreases (p < 0.02) ACC firing during pinch in both groups compared to baseline. In NRC S1 neurons, tonic SCS decreases (p < 0.01) firing from baseline during light brush; 60% nonlinear burst decreases (p < 0.01) firing from baseline during brush and pinch. CONCLUSIONS Nonlinear burst SCS reduces firing in the ACC from a painful stimulus; a lower amplitude nonlinear burst appears to have the greatest effect. Tonic and nonlinear burst SCS may have comparable effects in S1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Patrisia De Anda
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sonia Kartha
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Beth A Winkelstein
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Seymour B. Pain: A Precision Signal for Reinforcement Learning and Control. Neuron 2019; 101:1029-1041. [PMID: 30897355 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.01.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Since noxious stimulation usually leads to the perception of pain, pain has traditionally been considered sensory nociception. But its variability and sensitivity to a broad array of cognitive and motivational factors have meant it is commonly viewed as inherently imprecise and intangibly subjective. However, the core function of pain is motivational-to direct both short- and long-term behavior away from harm. Here, we illustrate that a reinforcement learning model of pain offers a mechanistic understanding of how the brain supports this, illustrating the underlying computational architecture of the pain system. Importantly, it explains why pain is tuned by multiple factors and necessarily supported by a distributed network of brain regions, recasting pain as a precise and objectifiable control signal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ben Seymour
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, 1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Keum S, Shin HS. Neural Basis of Observational Fear Learning: A Potential Model of Affective Empathy. Neuron 2019; 104:78-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
|
45
|
Juarez-Salinas DL, Braz JM, Etlin A, Gee S, Sohal V, Basbaum AI. GABAergic cell transplants in the anterior cingulate cortex reduce neuropathic pain aversiveness. Brain 2019; 142:2655-2669. [PMID: 31321411 PMCID: PMC6752168 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Revised: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction of inhibitory circuits in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex underlies the affective (aversive), but not the sensory-discriminative features (hypersensitivity) of the pain experience. To restore inhibitory controls, we transplanted inhibitory interneuron progenitor cells into the rostral anterior cingulate cortex in a chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain model. The transplants integrated, exerted a GABA-A mediated inhibition of host pyramidal cells and blocked gabapentin preference (i.e. relieved ongoing pain) in a conditioned place preference paradigm. Surprisingly, pain aversiveness persisted when the transplants populated both the rostral and posterior anterior cingulate cortex. We conclude that selective and long lasting inhibition of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, in the mouse, has a profound pain relieving effect against nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain. However, the interplay between the rostral and posterior anterior cingulate cortices must be considered when examining circuits that influence ongoing pain and pain aversiveness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Joao M Braz
- Department Anatomy, University California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Etlin
- Department Anatomy, University California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Steven Gee
- Department Psychiatry, University California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Vikaas Sohal
- Department Psychiatry, University California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Allan I Basbaum
- Department Anatomy, University California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Skin/Muscle Incision and Retraction Induces Evoked and Spontaneous Pain in Mice. Pain Res Manag 2019; 2019:6528528. [PMID: 31467625 PMCID: PMC6701374 DOI: 10.1155/2019/6528528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Background Surgery is a frequent cause of persistent pain. Unrelieved chronic postsurgical pain causes unnecessary patient suffering and discomfort and usually leads to psychological complications. The rat model of skin/muscle incision and retraction (SMIR) with decreased paw withdrawal thresholds developed by Flatters was usually used to investigate the underlying mechanism of chronic postsurgical pain. Objectives The aim of our study was to develop a new mice model of SMIR for further investigation with transgenic mice and so on and to evaluate the analgesic effects of clonidine and gabapentin on pain behavior with this new mice model. Methods Male C57BL/6 mice were anesthetized, and a 1.0-1.3 cm incision was made in the skin of the medial thigh approximately 3 mm medial to the saphenous vein to reveal the muscle of the thigh. The paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) to mechanical stimuli and the paw withdrawal latency to heat stimuli were measured before and after SMIR. Furthermore, the PWT to mechanical stimuli and conditioned place preference (CPP) was measured before and after the systemic injection of clonidine and gabapentin. Results SMIR-evoked mechanical hypersensitivity in mice began on day 1 after the procedure, prominent between days 1 and 10 after the procedure, persisted at least until day 14, and disappeared on day 18 after the procedure. However, the mice model of SMIR did not evoke significant heat hypersensitivity. Systemic injection of clonidine and gabapentin raised the PWT in the SMIR mice dose-dependently. Compared with the mice that underwent the sham operation, mice of SMIR spent a longer time in the clonidine-paired chamber than those of NS, while the gabapentin-paired chamber has no difference with that of NS in the CPP paradigm. Conclusion These data suggested that the mice model of SMIR demonstrated a persistent pain syndrome, including evoked pain and spontaneous pain. Clonidine and gabapentin could relieve mechanical hypersensitivity dose-dependently simultaneously. However, clonidine but not gabapentin could alleviate the spontaneous pain of SMIR in the mice model.
Collapse
|
47
|
Becker S, Bräscher AK, Bannister S, Bensafi M, Calma-Birling D, Chan RCK, Eerola T, Ellingsen DM, Ferdenzi C, Hanson JL, Joffily M, Lidhar NK, Lowe LJ, Martin LJ, Musser ED, Noll-Hussong M, Olino TM, Pintos Lobo R, Wang Y. The role of hedonics in the Human Affectome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:221-241. [PMID: 31071361 PMCID: PMC6931259 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders and well-being, as well as the experience of aesthetics. As a centerpiece of the Human Affectome Project, language used to express pleasure and displeasure was also analyzed, and showed that most of these analyzed words overlap with expressions of emotions, actions, and bodily states. Our review shows that hedonics are typically investigated as processes that accompany other functions, but the mechanisms of hedonics (as core processes) have not been fully elucidated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Becker
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Anne-Kathrin Bräscher
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Mainz, Wallstr. 3, 55122 Mainz, Germany.
| | | | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - Destany Calma-Birling
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 800 Algoma, Blvd., Clow F011, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA.
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Tuomas Eerola
- Durham University, Palace Green, DH1 RL3, Durham, UK.
| | - Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, CNY149-2301, 13th St, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
| | - Camille Ferdenzi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - Jamie L Hanson
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, 3939 O'Hara Street, Rm. 715, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA.
| | - Mateus Joffily
- Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), 93 Chemin des Mouilles, 69130, Écully, France.
| | - Navdeep K Lidhar
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Leroy J Lowe
- Neuroqualia (NGO), 36 Arthur Street, Truro, NS, B2N 1X5, Canada.
| | - Loren J Martin
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Erica D Musser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Childen and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Michael Noll-Hussong
- Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Saarland University Medical Centre, Kirrberger Strasse 100, D-66421 Homburg, Germany.
| | - Thomas M Olino
- Temple University, Department of Psychology, 1701N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19010, USA.
| | - Rosario Pintos Lobo
- Department of Psychology, Center for Childen and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Positive allosteric modulators of nonbenzodiazepine γ-aminobutyric acidA receptor subtypes for the treatment of chronic pain. Pain 2019; 160:198-209. [PMID: 30204648 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Chronic neuropathic pain may be caused, in part, by loss of inhibition in spinal pain processing pathways due to attenuation of local GABAergic tone. Nociception and nocifensive behaviors are reduced after enhancement of tonically activated extrasynaptic GABAAR-mediated currents by agonist ligands for δ subunit-containing GABAARs. However, typical ligands that target δ subunit-containing GABAARs are limited due to sedative effects at higher doses. We used the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) and gp120 models of experimental neuropathic pain to evaluate compound 2-261, a nonbenzodiazepine site positive allosteric modulator of α4β3δ GABAARs optimized to be nonsedative by selective activation of β2/3-subunit-containing GABAARs over receptor subtypes incorporating β1 subunits. Similar levels of 2-261 were detected in the brain and plasma after intraperitoneal administration. Although systemic 2-261 did not alter sensory thresholds in sham-operated animals, it significantly reversed SNL-induced thermal and tactile hypersensitivity in a GABAAR-dependent fashion. Intrathecal 2-261 produced conditioned place preference and elevated dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens of nerve-injured, but not sham-operated, rats. In addition, systemic pretreatment with 2-261 blocked conditioned place preference from spinal clonidine in SNL rats. Moreover, 2-261 reversed thermal hyperalgesia and partially reversed tactile allodynia in the gp120 model of HIV-related neuropathic pain. The effects of 2-261 likely required interaction with the α4β3δ GABAAR because 2-301, a close structural analog of 2-261 with limited extrasynaptic receptor efficacy, was not active. Thus, 2-261 may produce pain relief with diminished side effects through selective modulation of β2/3-subunit-containing extrasynaptic GABAARs.
Collapse
|
49
|
Mussio CA, Harte SE, Borszcz GS. Regional Differences Within the Anterior Cingulate Cortex in the Generation Versus Suppression of Pain Affect in Rats. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2019; 21:121-134. [PMID: 31201992 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2017] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Casey A Mussio
- Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Steven E Harte
- Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - George S Borszcz
- Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Meda KS, Patel T, Braz JM, Malik R, Turner ML, Seifikar H, Basbaum AI, Sohal VS. Microcircuit Mechanisms through which Mediodorsal Thalamic Input to Anterior Cingulate Cortex Exacerbates Pain-Related Aversion. Neuron 2019; 102:944-959.e3. [PMID: 31030955 PMCID: PMC6554049 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.03.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Hyperexcitability of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is thought to drive aversion associated with chronic neuropathic pain. Here, we studied the contribution of input from the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) to ACC, using sciatic nerve injury and chemotherapy-induced mouse models of neuropathic pain. Activating MD inputs elicited pain-related aversion in both models. Unexpectedly, excitatory responses of layer V ACC neurons to MD inputs were significantly weaker in pain models compared to controls. This caused the ratio between excitation and feedforward inhibition elicited by MD input to shift toward inhibition, specifically for subcortically projecting (SC) layer V neurons. Furthermore, direct inhibition of SC neurons reproduced the pain-related aversion elicited by activating MD inputs. Finally, both the ability to elicit pain-related aversion and the decrease in excitation were specific to MD inputs; activating basolateral amygdala inputs produced opposite effects. Thus, chronic pain-related aversion may reflect activity changes in specific pathways, rather than generalized ACC hyperactivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karuna S Meda
- Department of Anatomy and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Tosha Patel
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Joao M Braz
- Department of Anatomy and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Ruchi Malik
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Marc L Turner
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Helia Seifikar
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Allan I Basbaum
- Department of Anatomy and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
| | - Vikaas S Sohal
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
| |
Collapse
|