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 …

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 …

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews that the magnitude of the ascending nociceptive
signal and the consequent pain sensation can be greatly influenced by descending …

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 …

Numerous systems within the central nervous system can act to increase or decrease
incoming pain messages. Endogenous descending inhibitory and facilitatory control …

Our knowledge of the existence of endogenous descending pain modulatory systems spans
at least three decades and we now know that brain stem descending pathways constitute a …

The periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) and the nucleus raphe magnus and adjacent
structures of the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM), with their projections to the spinal …

Descending controls, comprising pathways that originate in midbrain and brainstem regions
and project onto the spinal cord, have long been recognised as key links in the multiple …

Spinal nociceptive processing is under the control of specific brainstem modulatory circuits.
The best studied and probably functionally most significant such modulatory circuit has links …

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the anatomy and physiology of descending
control of nociceptive responses of dorsal horn neurons. Sensory pathways in vertebrates …