Influence of amygdaloid glutamatergic receptors on sensory and emotional pain-r...

• Author(s): Ansah, Osei B. ; Bourbia, Nora ; Gonçalves, Leonor ; Almeida, Armando ; Pertovaara, Antti
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/29554
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Amygdal; Aversive place-conditioning; Descending pain modulation; Emotional pain; Mechanical pain sensibility; Peripheral neuropathy
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

The role of amygdaloid glutamatergic receptors (GluRs) in maintenance of the sensory versus emotional component of neuropathic pain was studied by assessing monofilament-induced limb withdrawal response (sensory pain) and aversive place-conditioning behavior (emotional pain) following amygdaloid administration of various glutamatergic compounds in nerve-injured animals. The results indicate that endogenous activation of amygdaloid group I metabotropic GluRs, mGluR(1) and mGluR(5), and the NMDA-R contributes to maintenance of sensory and emotional components of neuropathic pain. The predominant effect by amygdaloid group I mGluRs was facilitation of emotional-like pain behavior.