The research team found that the neural circuit changes in the central area of ​​the amygdala in mice with chronic myalgia can explain symptoms and treatment at the same time. The latest research was published in an international journal today.

(Provided by the research team)

[Reporter Lin Xiaoyun/Taipei Report] About 6% of Taiwan’s people, millions of people suffer from chronic pain fibromyalgia, generalized pain, severe sleep disorders and negative emotions. The latest research by Yangming Jiaotong University and Taipei Veterans General , if inhibiting the activation of the mouse "amygdala central region somatostatin nerve cells", it can relieve chronic pain and negative emotions. The research results were published in the international scientific journal "Electrical Life Science (eLife)" this morning.

Lian Zhengzhang, Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Yangming Jiaotong University, and Wang Shujun, Director of the Taipei Veterans General Neuromedical Center, found that the activity of "amygdala voxelin neurons" in the mouse brain would affect anxiety or depression caused by chronic pain. The results of the study will help In order to understand the interaction between chronic pain, behavior and emotion, and to provide possible treatment directions for pain hypersensitivity, the Taiwan Science and Technology Media Center invited a research team to analyze this study.

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Lian Zhengzhang pointed out that nearly 30% of people in the world are deeply affected by chronic pain, which has caused a great social burden. The related medical expenses in the United States are as high as 600 billion U.S. dollars. Research has found that the nerve cell group in the central area of ​​the amygdala, in addition to participating in emotional Regulate, and even regulate the function of the pain circuit. Although it is not clear which nerve cells and circuits affect emotions after receiving pain messages, it is found that the activation of somatostatin nerve cells in the central area of ​​​​the amygdala of the mouse brain can lead to pain and negative emotions in mice. For emotion, the study used pregabalin, a drug clinically used to treat chronic myalgia, or used chemical genetics to inhibit the activation of this specific group of cells, and found that it could relieve pain and negative emotion-related behaviors in mice.

However, Lian Zhengzhang also said that although mice and humans have similar brain structures, there are differences in neural circuits and connections, which still need further research. The future research direction is to develop therapeutic methods by regulating the activity of specific nerve cells that produce chronic pain. It is expected to be of substantial help to the prevention and treatment of chronic pain.

The first author of the study, Ph.D. Candidate Lin Yuling, said that this study clarified the overlapping neural circuits of chronic pain and negative emotions. In the early stage of chronic pain development, giving drugs or inhibiting the activity of specific nerve cells in the central area of ​​the amygdala can effectively block Chronic pain and the development of negative emotions.

Wang Shujun explained that in representative diseases of chronic muscle pain such as fibromyalgia, patients also suffer from anxiety and depression in addition to pain. The team's research results found that the specific neural circuits of the amygdala of the brain can explain symptoms and treatment at the same time, providing In the future, the medical field will take a new direction in the treatment of related diseases.

Chen Shibin, a neurologist at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, said that the pain caused by chronic pain to patients is unimaginable, and it is a huge burden on the body and mind. At present, the clinical relationship between chronic pain and disease can only be understood through the patient's "subjective description". It is hoped that clinical research will establish more "objective description" indicators like basic research.

The research team found that the neural circuit changes in the central area of ​​the amygdala in mice with chronic myalgia, and the latest research was published in an international journal today.

(Provided by the research team)

Is there a cure for chronic pain?

Lian Zhengzhang (second from right), Dean of the School of Life Sciences of Yangming Jiaotong University, and Lin Yuling (second from left), a doctoral candidate, together with Wang Shujun (first from right), director of the Taipei Veterans General Neuromedical Center, and Chen Shibin, a physician from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, set up a research team to discover the neural circuit of chronic pain , can explain symptoms and treatment at the same time, the latest research published in international journals.

(Provided by the research team)