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Pain relief activates the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway
Author(s) -
Navratilova Edita,
Xie Jennifer,
Okun Alec,
Eyde Nathan,
Ci Shuang,
Ossipov Michael,
Deeny Tamara King,
Porreca Frank
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.662.14
Subject(s) - ventral tegmental area , conditioned place preference , dopamine , dopaminergic , lidocaine , context (archaeology) , medicine , neuroscience , anesthesia , tyrosine hydroxylase , peripheral , psychology , biology , paleontology
Pain is often insufficiently treated by currently available therapies. A major limitation in preclinical models is capturing affective dimensions of pain. We hypothesized that relief of pain would eliminate aversiveness and elicit reward that could be measured using conditioned place preference resulting from negative reinforcement. Additionally, we asked if relief of pain would activate the brain mesolimbic reward circuitry including dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). 24h following incision of the hindpaw, or sham surgery, rats received peripheral nerve block with lidocaine or saline and were paired with a context. Place preference was observed selectively in animals with incision and peripheral nerve block. Additional rats were perfused 2h after lidocaine or saline treatment and processed for immunohistochemistry. An increased number of cFos positive cells was observed within the VTA of rats with incision and peripheral nerve block. Many of these cFos positive cells were also positive for tyrosine hydroxylase suggesting that pain relief activates the reward pathway. Understanding of brain circuits mediating the aversiveness of pain may allow the development of improved therapies. Supported by NS066958‐01.