Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System
Chronic pain (pain lasting for >3 months) decreases patient quality of life and even occupational abilities. It can be controlled by treatment, but often persists even after management. To properly control pain, its underlying mechanisms must be determined. This review outlines the role of the me...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/10/10/701 |
| _version_ | 1797551958627713024 |
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| author | Seoyon Yang Mathieu Boudier-Revéret Yoo Jin Choo Min Cheol Chang |
| author_facet | Seoyon Yang Mathieu Boudier-Revéret Yoo Jin Choo Min Cheol Chang |
| author_sort | Seoyon Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chronic pain (pain lasting for >3 months) decreases patient quality of life and even occupational abilities. It can be controlled by treatment, but often persists even after management. To properly control pain, its underlying mechanisms must be determined. This review outlines the role of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system in chronic pain. The mesolimbic system, a neural circuit, delivers dopamine from the ventral tegmental area to neural structures such as the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and amygdala. It controls executive, affective, and motivational functions. Chronic pain patients suffer from low dopamine production and delivery in this system. The volumes of structures constituting the mesolimbic system are known to be decreased in such patients. Studies on administration of dopaminergic drugs to control chronic pain, with a focus on increasing low dopamine levels in the mesolimbic system, show that it is effective in patients with Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome, fibromyalgia, dry mouth syndrome, lumbar radicular pain, and chronic back pain. However, very few studies have confirmed these effects, and dopaminergic drugs are not commonly used to treat the various diseases causing chronic pain. Thus, further studies are required to determine the effectiveness of such treatment for chronic pain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:53:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b0501907d56b47f9a4d965f1c9f58e97 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:53:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-b0501907d56b47f9a4d965f1c9f58e972023-11-20T15:56:16ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252020-10-01101070110.3390/brainsci10100701Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic SystemSeoyon Yang0Mathieu Boudier-Revéret1Yoo Jin Choo2Min Cheol Chang3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Ewha Woman’s University Seoul Hospital, Ewha Woman’s University School of Medicine, Seoul 07804, KoreaDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2W 1T8, CanadaProduction R&D Division Advanced Interdisciplinary Team, Medical Device Development Center, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation, Deagu 41061, KoreaDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 42415, KoreaChronic pain (pain lasting for >3 months) decreases patient quality of life and even occupational abilities. It can be controlled by treatment, but often persists even after management. To properly control pain, its underlying mechanisms must be determined. This review outlines the role of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system in chronic pain. The mesolimbic system, a neural circuit, delivers dopamine from the ventral tegmental area to neural structures such as the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and amygdala. It controls executive, affective, and motivational functions. Chronic pain patients suffer from low dopamine production and delivery in this system. The volumes of structures constituting the mesolimbic system are known to be decreased in such patients. Studies on administration of dopaminergic drugs to control chronic pain, with a focus on increasing low dopamine levels in the mesolimbic system, show that it is effective in patients with Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome, fibromyalgia, dry mouth syndrome, lumbar radicular pain, and chronic back pain. However, very few studies have confirmed these effects, and dopaminergic drugs are not commonly used to treat the various diseases causing chronic pain. Thus, further studies are required to determine the effectiveness of such treatment for chronic pain.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/10/10/701mesolimbic systemdopaminergic systemchronic paindopaminergic drugdepressionaddiction |
| spellingShingle | Seoyon Yang Mathieu Boudier-Revéret Yoo Jin Choo Min Cheol Chang Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System Brain Sciences mesolimbic system dopaminergic system chronic pain dopaminergic drug depression addiction |
| title | Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System |
| title_full | Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System |
| title_fullStr | Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System |
| title_short | Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System |
| title_sort | association between chronic pain and alterations in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system |
| topic | mesolimbic system dopaminergic system chronic pain dopaminergic drug depression addiction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/10/10/701 |
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