Chronic Back Pain Is Associated with Alterations in Dopamine Neurotransmission in the Ventral Striatum

Overview

Journal J Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2015 Jul 10

PMID 26156996

Citations 85

Authors

Ilkka K Martikainen

Emily B Nuechterlein

Marta Pecina

Tiffany M Love

Chelsea M Cummiford

Carmen R Green

Christian S Stohler

Jon-Kar Zubieta

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Significance Statement: The neural systems that underlie chronic pain remain poorly understood. Here, using PET, we provide insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate sensory and affective dimensions of pain in chronic back pain patients. We found that patients with back pain have alterations in brain dopamine function that are associated with measures of pain sensitivity and affective state, but also with brain endogenous opioid system functional measures. These findings suggest that brain dopamine-opioid interactions are involved in the pathophysiology of chronic pain, which has potential therapeutic implications. Our results may also help to explain individual variation in susceptibility to opioid medication misuse and eventual addiction in the context of chronic pain.

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