Dissecting the Neural Circuitry for Pain Modulation and Chronic Pain: Insights from Optogenetics
Fang Guo1 • Yu Du1 • Feng-Hui Qu1 • Shi-Da Lin1 • Zhong Chen2 • Shi-Hong Zhang1
1 Department of Pharmacology and Department of Anesthesiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
2 Key Laboratory of Neuropharmacology and Translational Medicine of Zhejiang Province, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China
Abstract
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. The processing of pain involves complicated modulation at the levels of the periphery, spinal cord, and brain. The pathogenesis of chronic pain is still not fully understood, which makes the clinical treatment challenging. Optogenetics, which combines optical and genetic technologies, can precisely intervene in the activity of specific groups of neurons and elements of the related circuits. Taking advantage of optogenetics, researchers have achieved a body of new findings that shed light on the cellular and circuit mechanisms of pain transmission, pain modulation, and chronic pain both in the periphery and the central nervous system. In this review, we summarize recent findings in pain research using optogenetic approaches and discuss their significance in understanding the pathogenesis of chronic pain.
Keywords
Optogenetics; Pain transmission; Pain modulation; Chronic pain; Neural circu
