Journal of Pain
Journal of Pain
5 years ago

The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Acute and Chronic Pain

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a functionally and structurally heterogeneous region and a key node of several brain networks, implicated in cognitive, affective, and sensory processing. As such, the DLPFC is commonly activated in experimental pain studies, and shows abnormally increased function in chronic pain populations. Furthermore, several studies have shown that some chronic pains are associated with decreased left DLPFC gray matter and that successful interventions can reverse this structural abnormality. In addition, studies have indicated that noninvasive stimulation of the left DLPFC effectively treats some chronic pains. In this article, we review the neuroimaging literature regarding the role of the DLPFC and its potential as a therapeutic target for chronic pain conditions, including studies showing the involvement of the DLPFC in encoding and modulating acute pain and studies demonstrating the reversal of DLPFC functional and structural abnormalities after successful interventions for chronic pain. We also review studies of noninvasive brain stimulation of the DLPFC showing acute pain modulation and some effectiveness as a treatment for certain chronic pain conditions. We further discuss the network architecture of the DLPFC, and postulate mechanisms by which DLPFC stimulation alleviates chronic pain. Future work testing these mechanisms will allow for more effective therapies. Perspective The structure and function of the DLPFC is abnormal in some chronic pain conditions. Upon successful resolution of pain, these abnormalities are reversed. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and the role of this region can lead to the development of an effective therapeutic target for some chronic pain conditions.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S152659001730531X

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.