It has long been appreciated that the experience of pain is highly variable between
individuals. Pain results from activation of sensory receptors specialized to detect actual or …

Upon receipt in the dorsal horn (DH) of the spinal cord, nociceptive (pain-signalling)
information from the viscera, skin and other organs is subject to extensive processing by a …

Hyperalgesia and allodynia are frequent symptoms of disease and may be useful
adaptations to protect vulnerable tissues. Both may, however, also emerge as diseases in …

The highly disagreeable sensation of pain results from an extraordinarily complex and
interactive series of mechanisms integrated at all levels of the neuroaxis, from the periphery …

The dorsal horn of the spinal cord is the location of the first synapse in pain pathways, and
as such, offers a very powerful target for regulation of nociceptive transmission by both local …

Spinal sensory transmission is under descending biphasic modulation, and descending
facilitation is believed to contribute to chronic pain. Descending modulation from the …

Agonists for the μ-opioid receptor are powerful analgesics and are highly addictive;
however, the contribution of the δ-and κ-opioid and opioid receptor-like receptors to …

Chronic pain, whether the result of nerve trauma or persistent inflammation, is a debilitating
condition that exerts a high social cost in terms of productivity, economic impact and quality …

Vastly stimulated by the discovery of opioid receptors in the early 1970s, preclinical and
clinical research was directed at the study of stereoselective neuronal actions of opioids …

Although interest in descending modulation of spinal cord function dates back to the time of
Sherrington, the modern era began in the late 1960s when it was shown that focal electrical …