Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Dec 20;87(Pt B):263-268.
doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.05.009. Epub 2017 May 10.

Corticolimbic circuitry in the modulation of chronic pain and substance abuse

Anna M W Taylor  1
Affiliations
Review

Corticolimbic circuitry in the modulation of chronic pain and substance abuse

Anna M W Taylor. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. .

Abstract

The transition from acute to chronic pain is accompanied by increased engagement of emotional and motivational circuits. Adaptations within this corticolimbic circuitry contribute to the cellular and behavioral maladaptations associated with chronic pain. Central regions within the corticolimbic brain include the mesolimbic dopamine system, the amygdala, and the medial prefrontal cortex. The evidence reviewed herein supports the notion that chronic pain induces significant changes within these corticolimbic regions that contribute to the chronicity and intractability of pain. In addition, pain-induced changes in corticolimbic circuitry are poised to impact motivated behavior and reward responsiveness to environmental stimuli, and may modulate the addiction liability of drugs of abuse, such as opioids.

Keywords: Addiction; Chronic pain; Limbic system; Motivated behavior; Reward.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Apkarian AV, Bushnell MC, Treede RD, Zubieta JK. Human brain mechanisms of pain perception and regulation in health and disease. Eur J Pain. 2005;9:463–84. - PubMed
    1. Apkarian AV, Sosa Y, Krauss BR, Thomas PS, Fredrickson BE, Levy RE, et al. Chronic pain patients are impaired on an emotional decision-making task. Pain. 2004;108:129–36. - PubMed
    1. Ashby FG, Isen AM, Turken AU. A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychol Rev. 1999;106:529–50. - PubMed
    1. Baliki MN, Geha PY, Fields HL, Apkarian AV. Predicting value of pain and analgesia: nucleus accumbens response to noxious stimuli changes in the presence of chronic pain. Neuron. 2010;66:149–60. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baliki MN, Petre B, Torbey S, Herrmann KM, Huang L, Schnitzer TJ, et al. Corticostriatal functional connectivity predicts transition to chronic back pain. Nat neurosci. 2012;15:1117–9. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms