Alleviation of negative emotional and pain responses through amygdala-hypothalamic social circuit activation.

ABSTRACT: Pain is a multifaceted experience that not only impacts individuals physiologically but also reshapes their emotional well-being and social dynamics. The expression of pain and postpain emotional states is profoundly influenced by social contexts. Recent research has highlighted the pivotal role of social rewards-including empathy, support, and acceptance-in modulating both pain perception and subsequent negative emotional responses. However, how direct manipulation of brain circuits that govern social behaviors and social rewards impacts pain and negative emotional responses remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigated whether direct activation of a newly identified noncanonical social reward circuit-specifically, the projections from the medial amygdala (MeA) to the medial preoptic

SUBMITTER: Lu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12663959 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature