Central Terminal Sensitization of TRPV1 by Descending Serotonergic Facilitation Modulates Chronic Pain

Central Sensitization and Descending Facilitation in Chronic Pain State

Optogenetic activation of brainstem serotonergic neurons induces persistent pain sensitization

BACKGROUND The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) is a key brainstem structure that conveys powerful descending influence of the central pain-modulating system on spinal pain transmission and processing. Serotonergic (5-HT) neurons are a major component in the heterogeneous populations of RVM neurons and in the descending pathways from RVM. However, the descending influence of RVM 5-HT neurons ...

Glial activation in the rostroventromedial medulla promotes descending facilitation to mediate inflammatory hypersensitivity.

Substantial evidence shows that activation of glial cells in the spinal cord may promote central sensitization and pain. Descending facilitation from the rostroventromedial medulla (RVM) is a critical component in the maintenance of chronic pain states, although the precise mechanisms through which facilitation maintains pain are unclear. Here, we investigated the possibility that glial activat...

Moving towards supraspinal TRPV1 receptors for chronic pain relief

Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptor is a non selective ligand-gated cation channel activated by capsaicin, heat, protons and endogenous lipids termed endovanilloids. As well as peripheral primary afferent neurons and dorsal root ganglia, TRPV1 receptor is also expressed in spinal and supraspinal structures such as those belonging to the endogenous antinociceptive desc...

TRPV1 in pain control from the brain

Despite of the intense research confirming the funding Hippocratic idea that “Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our(...) pains”, pain modulation from the brain remains a cuttingedge issue in neurobiology. It is now accepted that the brain has the capacity to modulate the magnitude of perceived pain, depending on individual and contextual factors (such as stre...