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Desch S, Schweinhardt P, Seymour B, Flor H, Becker S. Evidence for dopaminergic involvement in endogenous modulation of pain relief. eLife 2023; 12:e81436. [PMID: 36722857 PMCID: PMC9988263 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81436] [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: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Relief of ongoing pain is a potent motivator of behavior, directing actions to escape from or reduce potentially harmful stimuli. Whereas endogenous modulation of pain events is well characterized, relatively little is known about the modulation of pain relief and its corresponding neurochemical basis. Here, we studied pain modulation during a probabilistic relief-seeking task (a 'wheel of fortune' gambling task), in which people actively or passively received reduction of a tonic thermal pain stimulus. We found that relief perception was enhanced by active decisions and unpredictability, and greater in high novelty-seeking trait individuals, consistent with a model in which relief is tuned by its informational content. We then probed the roles of dopaminergic and opioidergic signaling, both of which are implicated in relief processing, by embedding the task in a double-blinded cross-over design with administration of the dopamine precursor levodopa and the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone. We found that levodopa enhanced each of these information-specific aspects of relief modulation but no significant effects of the opioidergic manipulation. These results show that dopaminergic signaling has a key role in modulating the perception of pain relief to optimize motivation and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Desch
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
- Clinical Psychology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Petra Schweinhardt
- Integrative Spinal Research, Department of Chiropractic Medicine, Balgrist University Hospital, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Ben Seymour
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, John Radcliffe HospitalOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Herta Flor
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
| | - Susanne Becker
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityMannheimGermany
- Clinical Psychology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
- Integrative Spinal Research, Department of Chiropractic Medicine, Balgrist University Hospital, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
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Huang M, Wang G, Lin Y, Guo Y, Ren X, Shao J, Cao J, Zang W, Li Z. Dopamine receptor D2, but not D1, mediates the reward circuit from the ventral tegmental area to the central amygdala, which is involved in pain relief. Mol Pain 2022; 18:17448069221145096. [PMID: 36464669 PMCID: PMC9742700 DOI: 10.1177/17448069221145096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain involves both sensory and affective dimensions. The amygdala is a key player in linking nociceptive stimuli to negative emotional behaviors or affective states. Relief of pain is rewarding and activates brain reward circuits. Whether the reward circuit from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the central amygdala (CeA) is involved in pain relief remains unexplored. Using a model of experimental postsurgical pain, we found that pain relief elicited conditioned place preference (CPP), activated CeA-projecting dopaminergic cells in the VTA, and decreased dopaminergic D2 receptor expression in the CeA. Activation of the VTA-CeA neural pathway using optogenetic approaches relieved incisional pain. Administration of a D2 receptor agonist reversed the pain relief elicited by light-induced activation of the VTA-CeA pathway. These findings indicate that the VTA-CeA circuit is involved in pain relief in mice via dopamine receptor D2 in the CeA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjie Huang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China,Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Sanquan College of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Guoqing Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China,Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yazhou Lin
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Yanyan Guo
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Xiuhua Ren
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Jinping Shao
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Jing Cao
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Weidong Zang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
| | - Zhihua Li
- Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China,Zhihua Li, Department of Human Anatomy, Basic Medical Sciences College, Zhengzhou University, 1 Science Road, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China.
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Modulation of the Negative Affective Dimension of Pain: Focus on Selected Neuropeptidergic System Contributions. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20164010. [PMID: 31426473 PMCID: PMC6720937 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20164010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well known that emotions can interfere with the perception of physical pain, as well as with the development and maintenance of painful conditions. On the other hand, somatic pain can have significant consequences on an individual’s affective behavior. Indeed, pain is defined as a complex and multidimensional experience, which includes both sensory and emotional components, thus exhibiting the features of a highly subjective experience. Over the years, neural pathways involved in the modulation of the different components of pain have been identified, indicating the existence of medial and lateral pain systems, which, respectively, project from medial or lateral thalamic nuclei to reach distinct cortex regions relating to specific functions. However, owing to the limited information concerning how mood state and painful input affect each other, pain treatment is frequently unsatisfactory. Different neuromodulators, including endogenous neuropeptides, appear to be involved in pain-related emotion and in its affective influence on pain perception, thus playing key roles in vulnerability and clinical outcome. Hence, this review article focuses on evidence concerning the modulation of the sensory and affective dimensions of pain, with particular attention given to some selected neuropeptidergic system contributions.
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Li C, Kash TL. κ-Opioid Receptor Modulation of GABAergic Inputs onto Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Dopamine Neurons. MOLECULAR NEUROPSYCHIATRY 2019; 5:190-199. [PMID: 31768372 DOI: 10.1159/000496974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The κ-opioid receptor (KOR) system has been implicated in the regulation of many behaviors including pain. While there are numerous studies suggesting KOR regulation of pain being mediated spinally, there have been reports of pain-like behaviors regulated by central KOR signaling. In particular, oxytocin-induced analgesia appears to be mediated by KOR receptors within the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG). We recently found that activation of dopamine (DA) neurons within the vlPAG is antinociceptive. In this study, we sought to determine the impact of KOR signaling on -GABAergic inputs onto vlPAG DA neurons, and the mechanism through which KOR impacts these inputs. We found that activation of KOR reduced GABAergic transmission onto vlPAG DA neurons. In addition, our data suggest this effect is mediated presynaptically via the G protein βγ-subunit. They raise the possibility that KOR activation disinhibits -vlPAG DA neurons, which could lead to altered regulation of pain-related behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia Li
- Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Abstract
All preclinical procedures for analgesic drug discovery involve two components: 1) a "pain stimulus" (the principal independent variable), which is delivered to an experimental subject with the intention of producing a pain state; and 2) a "pain behavior" (the principal dependent variable), which is measured as evidence of that pain state. Candidate analgesics are then evaluated for their effectiveness to reduce the pain behavior, and results are used to prioritize drugs for advancement to clinical testing. This review describes a taxonomy of preclinical procedures organized into an "antinociception matrix" by reference to their types of pain stimulus (noxious, inflammatory, neuropathic, disease related) and pain behavior (unconditioned, classically conditioned, operant conditioned). Particular emphasis is devoted to pain behaviors and the behavioral principals that govern their expression, pharmacological modulation, and preclinical-to-clinical translation. Strengths and weaknesses are compared and contrasted for procedures using each type of behavioral outcome measure, and the following four recommendations are offered to promote strategic use of these procedures for preclinical-to-clinical analgesic drug testing. First, attend to the degree of homology between preclinical and clinical outcome measures, and use preclinical procedures with behavioral outcome measures homologous to clinically relevant outcomes in humans. Second, use combinations of preclinical procedures with complementary strengths and weaknesses to optimize both sensitivity and selectivity of preclinical testing. Third, take advantage of failed clinical translation to identify drugs that can be back-translated preclinically as active negative controls. Finally, increase precision of procedure labels by indicating both the pain stimulus and the pain behavior in naming preclinical procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Stevens Negus
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
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