Modulation of the Negative Affective Dimension of Pain: Focus on Selected Neuropeptidergic System Contributions.

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.

• Authors: Francesca Felicia Caputi, Laura Rullo, Serena Stamatakos, Sanzio Candeletti, Patrizia Romualdi
• Journal: International journal of molecular sciences (Int J Mol Sci) Vol. 20 Issue 16 (Aug 17 2019) ISSN: 1422-0067 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 31426473 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Neuropeptides

Topics

• Animals
• Cerebral Cortex
• DNA Methylation
• Emotions
• Epigenesis, Genetic
• Humans
• Neural Pathways
• Neuropeptides (physiology)
• Pain