Mechanisms of Pain

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Pain Imaging

Abstract

The chapter describes in summary the main mechanism of pain based on peripheral receptors and biochemical mediators. The pathways of pain and the central nervous system centers for pain are described. Different and the current hypothesis of pain modulation, sensitization, and manipulation are described. The concept of pain matrix based on the modern functional neuromaging in humans is reported. The descending control of brainstem on spinal mechanisms and the importance of attention and cognitive state on pain perception and elaboration are described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Magrinelli F, Zanette G, Tamburin S. Neuropathic pain: diagnosis and treatment. Pract Neurol. 2013;13:292–307.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Finnerup NB, Haroutounian S, Kamerman P, Baron R, Bennett DL, Bouhassira D, Cruccu G, Freeman R, Hansson P, Nurmikko T, Raja SN, Rice AS, Serra J, Smith BH, Treede RD, Jensen TS. Neuropathic pain: an updated grading system for research and clinical practice. Pain. 2016;157:1599–606.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Lumpkin EA, Caterina MJ. Mechanisms of sensory transduction in the skin. Nature. 2007;445:858–65.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Zimmerman A, Bai L, Ginty DD. The gentle touch receptors of mammalian skin. Science. 2014;346:950–4.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Basbaum A, Jessell T. The perception of pain. In:Principles of neural science. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2000. p. 472–91.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Tracey I, Dunckley P. Importance of anti- and pro-nociceptive mechanisms in human disease. Gut. 2004;53:1553–5.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Zanette G, Cacciatori C, Tamburin S. Central sensitization in carpal tunnel syndrome with extraterritorial spread of sensory symptoms. Pain. 2010;148:227–36.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Finnerup NB, Attal N, Haroutounian S, McNicol E, Baron R, Dworkin RH, Gilron I, Haanpää M, Hansson P, Jensen TS, Kamerman PR, Lund K, Moore A, Raja SN, Rice AS, Rowbotham M, Sena E, Siddall P, Smith BH, Wallace M. Pharmacotherapy for neuropathic pain in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Neurol. 2015;14:162–73.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Porro C, Cettolo V, Francescato MP, Baraldi P. Temporal and intensity coding of pain in human cortex. J Neurophysiol. 1998;80:3312–20.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Craig A, Chen K, Bandy D, Reiman E. Thermosensory activation of insular cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2000;3:184–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Price DD. Psychological and neural mechanisms of the affective dimension of pain. Science. 2000;288:1769–72.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Tracey I, Becerra L, Chang I, et al. Noxious hot and cold stimulation produce common patterns of brain activation in humans: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Neurosci Lett. 2000;288:159–62.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ingvar M. Pain and functional imaging. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci. 1999;354:1347–58.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Suzuki R, Rygh LJ, Dickenson AH. Bad news from the brain: descending 5-HT pathways that control spinal pain processing. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2004;25:613–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Petrovic P, Petersson KM, Ghatan PH, Stone-Elander S, Ingvar M. Pain-related cerebral activation is altered by a distracting cognitive task. Pain. 2000;85:19–30.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Valet M, Sprenger T, Boecker H, et al. Distraction modulates connectivity of the cingulo-frontal cortex and the midbrain during pain—an fMRI analysis. Pain. 2004;109:399–408.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Colloca L, Ludman T, Bouhassira D, Baron R, Dickenson AH, Yarnitsky D, Freeman R, Truini A, Attal N, Finnerup NB, Eccleston C, Kalso E, Bennett DL, Dworkin RH, Raja SN. Neuropathic pain. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17002.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Tamburin S, Maier A, Schiff S, Lauriola MF, Di Rosa E, Zanette G, Mapelli D. Cognition and emotional decision-making in chronic low back pain: an ERPs study during Iowa gambling task. Front Psychol. 2014;5:1350.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Tamburin S, Borg K, Caro XJ, Jann S, Clark AJ, Magrinelli F, Sobue G, Werhagen L, Zanette G, Koike H, Späth PJ, Vincent A, Goebel A. Immunoglobulin g for the treatment of chronic pain: report of an expert workshop. Pain Med. 2014;15:1072–82.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paolo Manganotti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Manganotti, P., Tamburin, S. (2019). Mechanisms of Pain. In: Cova, M., Stacul, F. (eds) Pain Imaging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99822-0_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99822-0_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99821-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99822-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Navigation