Neural Plasticity in the Brain during Neuropathic Pain

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 pai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomedicines 2021-05, Vol.9 (6), p.624
Main Authors: Bak, Myeong Seong, Park, Haney, Kim, Sun Kwang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics
anterior cingulate cortex
Basal ganglia
Chronic pain
Cortex (cingulate)
Nervous system
neural plasticity
Neuralgia
neuropathic pain
Neuroplasticity
Pain
Periaqueductal gray area
periaqueductal grey
primary somatosensory cortex
Proteins
Review
Signal processing
Somatosensory cortex
Spinal cord
Spinal plasticity
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Summary: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.
ISSN:2227-9059
2227-9059
DOI:10.3390/biomedicines9060624