Abstract
Clinical pain is a serious public health issue. Treatment of pain-related suffering requires knowledge of how pain signals are initially interpreted and subsequently transmitted and perpetuated. This review article is one of three reviews in this issue of Neuron that address our understanding of the pain process and possible solutions to the problem from both cellular- and systems-level viewpoints. Our understanding of the neural correlates of pain perception in humans has increased significantly since the advent of neuroimaging. Relating neural activity changes to the varied pain experiences has led to an increased awareness of how factors (e.g., cognition, emotion, context, injury) can separately influence pain perception. Tying this body of knowledge in humans to work in animal models of pain provides an opportunity to determine common features that reliably contribute to pain perception and its modulation. One key system that underpins the ability to change pain intensity is the brainstem's descending modulatory network with its pro- and antinociceptive components. We discuss not only the latest data describing the cerebral signature of pain and its modulation in humans, but also suggest that the brainstem plays a pivotal role in gating the degree of nociceptive transmission so that the resultant pain experienced is appropriate for the particular situation of the individual.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 377-391 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Neuron |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
Cite this
The Cerebral Signature for Pain Perception and Its Modulation. / Tracey, Irene; Mantyh, Patrick W.
In: Neuron, Vol. 55, No. 3, 02.08.2007, p. 377-391.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The Cerebral Signature for Pain Perception and Its Modulation
AU - Tracey, Irene
AU - Mantyh, Patrick W
PY - 2007/8/2
Y1 - 2007/8/2
N2 - Clinical pain is a serious public health issue. Treatment of pain-related suffering requires knowledge of how pain signals are initially interpreted and subsequently transmitted and perpetuated. This review article is one of three reviews in this issue of Neuron that address our understanding of the pain process and possible solutions to the problem from both cellular- and systems-level viewpoints. Our understanding of the neural correlates of pain perception in humans has increased significantly since the advent of neuroimaging. Relating neural activity changes to the varied pain experiences has led to an increased awareness of how factors (e.g., cognition, emotion, context, injury) can separately influence pain perception. Tying this body of knowledge in humans to work in animal models of pain provides an opportunity to determine common features that reliably contribute to pain perception and its modulation. One key system that underpins the ability to change pain intensity is the brainstem's descending modulatory network with its pro- and antinociceptive components. We discuss not only the latest data describing the cerebral signature of pain and its modulation in humans, but also suggest that the brainstem plays a pivotal role in gating the degree of nociceptive transmission so that the resultant pain experienced is appropriate for the particular situation of the individual.
AB - Clinical pain is a serious public health issue. Treatment of pain-related suffering requires knowledge of how pain signals are initially interpreted and subsequently transmitted and perpetuated. This review article is one of three reviews in this issue of Neuron that address our understanding of the pain process and possible solutions to the problem from both cellular- and systems-level viewpoints. Our understanding of the neural correlates of pain perception in humans has increased significantly since the advent of neuroimaging. Relating neural activity changes to the varied pain experiences has led to an increased awareness of how factors (e.g., cognition, emotion, context, injury) can separately influence pain perception. Tying this body of knowledge in humans to work in animal models of pain provides an opportunity to determine common features that reliably contribute to pain perception and its modulation. One key system that underpins the ability to change pain intensity is the brainstem's descending modulatory network with its pro- and antinociceptive components. We discuss not only the latest data describing the cerebral signature of pain and its modulation in humans, but also suggest that the brainstem plays a pivotal role in gating the degree of nociceptive transmission so that the resultant pain experienced is appropriate for the particular situation of the individual.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.07.012
DO - 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.07.012
M3 - Article
C2 - 17678852
AN - SCOPUS:34547451102
VL - 55
SP - 377
EP - 391
JO - Neuron
JF - Neuron
SN - 0896-6273
IS - 3
ER -