The response to painful stimulation depends not only on peripheral nociceptive input but also on the cognitive and affective context in which pain occurs. One contextual variable that affects the neural and behavioral response to nociceptive stimulation is the degree to which pain is perceived to be controllable. Previous studies indicate that perceived controllability affects pain tolerance, l...

background: teucrium polium has been known as an important traditional medicinal plant and is used for different therapeutic purposes such as gastrointestinal disorders. therefore, the anti-spasmodic and antinociceptive activities of aqueous extract of teucrium polium w as examined. methods: anti-spasmodic effect of different concentrations (47-470 mg/l) of teucrium polium extract was assessed ...

introduction: nowadays opioids are gaining acceptance for the management of moderate to severe and chronic pain. in addition, a number of studies have shown that plasma levels of β-endorphin (βep) in exercise trained are higher than sedentary rats. in our study we assume that exercise training can reduce pain after withdrawal syndrome in morphine-dependent rats. methods: male wistar rats (250±2...

Ca(2+)-permeable AMPA receptors are densely expressed in the spinal dorsal horn, but their functional significance in pain processing is not understood. By disrupting the genes encoding GluR-A or GluR-B, we generated mice exhibiting increased or decreased numbers of Ca(2+)-permeable AMPA receptors, respectively. Here, we demonstrate that AMPA receptors are critical determinants of nociceptive p...

Thalamocortical (TC) neurons are known to relay incoming sensory information to the cortex via firing in tonic or burst mode. However, it is still unclear how respective firing modes of a single thalamic relay neuron contribute to pain perception under consciousness. Some studies report that bursting could increase pain in hyperalgesic conditions while others suggest the contrary. However, sinc...

Under physiological conditions, nociceptive information is mainly processed in superficial laminae of the spinal dorsal horn, whereas non-nociceptive information is processed in deeper laminae. Neuropathic pain patients often suffer from touch-evoked pain (allodynia), suggesting that modality borders are disrupted in their nervous system. We studied whether excitation evoked in deep dorsal horn...

Oxysophocarpine (OSC) is an alkaloid extracted from Siphocampylus verticillatus. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-nociceptive effects of OSC through systemic and intracerebroventricular administration in mice. Moreover, to evaluate its effectiveness and mechanism of action, this study investigated whether OSC altered the expression of γ-aminobutyric acid type A α1 (GABAAα1) rec...

Bright light can cause excessive visual discomfort, referred to as photophobia. The precise mechanisms linking luminance to the trigeminal nociceptive system supposed to mediate this discomfort are not known. To address this issue in healthy human subjects we modulated differentially visual cortex activity by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or flash light stimulation, and st...