Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 299, Issue 5610, Pages 1240-1243Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1078546
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NIDCR NIH HHS [R01 DE 12743, R01 DE 12059] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Responses to pain and other stressors are regulated by interactions between multiple brain areas and neurochemical systems. We examined the influence of a common functional genetic polymorphism affecting the metabolism of catecholamines on the modulation of responses to sustained pain in humans. Individuals homozygous for the met(158) allele of the catechol-O-methyttransferase (COMT) polymorphism (val(158)met) showed diminished regional mu-opioid system responses to pain compared with heterozygotes. These effects were accompanied by higher sensory and affective ratings of pain and a more negative internal affective state. Opposite effects were observed in val(158) homozygotes. The COMT val(158)met polymorphism thus influences the human experience of pain and may underlie interindividual differences in the adaptation and responses to pain and other stressful stimuli.
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