Journal
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS
Volume 361, Issue 1-3, Pages 225-228Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2003.12.002
Keywords
rostral ventromedial medulla; glutamate receptors; cholecystokinin; neurotensin; enkephalins
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The periaqueductal gray matter and the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM), with its projections to the spinal dorsal horn, constitute the efferent channel of the 'descending pain-control system'. Noxious stimulation of a peripheral tissue causes more pain if this tissue is inflamed (primary hyperalgesia). In such cases, stimulation of neighboring but uninflamed tissues also becomes more painful (secondary hyperalgesia). In animal models of inflammation, the descending pain-control system sends down, simultaneously, inhibitory and facilitatory influences, but inhibition predominates for primary hyperalgesia while facilitation predominates for secondary hyperalgesia. Descending inhibition and facilitation during peripheral inflammation are due not only to previously existing descending modulation, but also to inflammation-induced changes in RVM which involve receptors for NMDA, AMPA, cholecystokinin and neurotensin, as well as synthesis of enkephalins and nitric oxide. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available