While the activation of primary somatosensory (SI) cortex during pain perception is consistently reported in functional imaging studies on normal subjects and chronic pain patients, the specific roles of SI, particularly the subregions within SI, in the processing of sensory aspects of pain are still largely unknown. Using optical imaging of intrinsic signal (OIS) and single unit electrophysiol...

The analgesic mechanism of morphine on the spinal nociceptive transmission was compared in rabbits with the intact and cold-blocked states of the spinal cord. The degree of the suppressive effect of morphine (2 mg/kg) on the bradykinin-induced activity was significantly greater in the intact than in the cold-blocked states. Morphine (4 mg/kg) suppressed the nociceptive responses to similar leve...

PATIENTS WITH THE MOST SEVERE PAIN, e.g. suffering from traumatic injury or from cancer, receive the most potent analgesics we have: opioids. This treatment, however, is still impaired by severe opioid side effects such as respiratory depression, constipation, or the development of tolerance and dependence. In this issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparat...

Oscillating electric fields have shown great promise for indirect stimulation of damaged axons, classification of synchronizing neural networks, and inhibition of nociceptive signals. So far, models in this course have focused on modeling the membrane voltage dynamics of neurons based on their ionic components. Without altering the physical properties of neurons, electric fields also induce cha...

Diabetic rats in long-term display an augmented nociceptive response to chemical, mechanical, and thermal stimuli. Furthermore, hyperalgesia is one of the major symptoms of diabetic neuropathy in some patients. Considering the antidiabetic potential of pepper, this study was carried out to evaluate the possible analgesic effect of pepper-mixed food intake in male streptozotocin-induced diabetic...

Diabetic rats in long-term display an augmented nociceptive response to chemical, mechanical, and thermal stimuli. Furthermore, hyperalgesia is one of the major symptoms of diabetic neuropathy in some patients. Considering the antidiabetic potential of pepper, this study was carried out to evaluate the possible analgesic effect of pepper-mixed food intake in male streptozotocin-induced diabetic...

"Breakthrough pain" is a common clinical term that has not been conclusively defined or described. Breakthrough pain is a transitory flare of pain experienced when baseline pain has been reduced to a mild or moderate level. Breakthrough pain may be characterized by its relationship to a fixed around-the-clock (ATC) opioid dose, rapid onset and short duration, precipitating events, predictabilit...

The inhibitory effects of acute pain produced by the Lasègue's manoeuvre on the lower limb nociceptive flexion reflexes induced by electrical sural nerve stimulation were explored in patients complaining of sciatica as a result of an identified unilateral disc protrusion. Lassègue's manoeuvre on the affected side produced a typical radicular pain and resulted in a powerful depression of nocicep...

Introduction: Glabrous skin and hairy skin are innervated by different types of noxious fibers. However, the different nociceptive behaviors induced by formalin, a commonly used model of acute inflammatory pain, have not yet been systematically examined in the glabrous and hairy skin. Methods: In this study, we compared nociceptive behaviors induced by formalin injections (2%, 4%, and 8%) into...