The Journal of Neuroscience, January 4, 2006, ():
Supraspinal Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signaling: A Novel Mechanism for Descending Pain Facilitation
J. Neurosci. Guo et al.
26: 126
Supplemental data
Files in this Data Supplement:
- supplemental material
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Supplement Figure 1. The PAG-RVM-spinal cord descending pathways involved in pain modulation. The PAG in the midbrain has efferent projections to the RVM and RVM neurons directly project to the spinal dorsal horn (DH) where nociceptive input is initially processed. Primary afferent dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons transmit peripheral noxious input to the spinal DH. Supraspinal projecting DH neurons also issue collaterals to reachterminating in pain modulatory structures and the PAG also receives input from forebrain structures including cerebral cortex and hypothalamus. Inflammation induces peripheral sensitization associated with an increased barrage of primary afferent activity and increased activation of spinal DH neurons, followed by central sensitization. The hyperexcitability of DH neurons includes spinal projection neurons which then activate neurons at the brain stem level leading to a similar but not identical form of activity-dependent plasticity. In addition to BDNF released from primary afferent terminals, inflammation upregulates BDNF in PAG neurons and that. BDNF is released from terminals in the RVM, resulting in an enhancement of descending facilitation andthat contributinges to spinal dorsal horn neuronal hyperexcitability and a time-dependent maintenance of behavioral hyperalgesia.
