Modulation of the Negative Affective Dimension of Pain: Focus on Selected Neuropeptidergic System Contributions
Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Irnerio 48, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(16), 4010; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20164010
Received: 18 July 2019 / Revised: 7 August 2019 / Accepted: 9 August 2019 / Published: 17 August 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chronic Pain: Spinal and Sovraspinal Neuroinflammation and Associated Negative Affective States)
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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Keywords:
pain; negative affect; opioid system; neuropeptides; epigenetics; DNA methylation; DNMT enzymes
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Caputi, F.F.; Rullo, L.; Stamatakos, S.; Candeletti, S.; Romualdi, P. Modulation of the Negative Affective Dimension of Pain: Focus on Selected Neuropeptidergic System Contributions. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 4010.
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