Influence of neuropathic pain on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor plasticity and behavioral responses to nicotine in rats.

ABSTRACT: Tobacco smoking is particularly evident in individuals experiencing chronic pain. This complex relationship is poorly understood at both molecular and behavioral levels. Here, we describe experiments aimed at understanding whether a chronic pain state induces neuroadaptations into the brain or peripheral nerves that involve nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and whether these neuroadaptations directly lead to increased vulnerability to nicotine addiction or to the development of coping strategies to relieve pain symptoms. We found that ligation of the rat L5 spinal nerve led to a dramatic downregulation in the mRNA expression levels of all nAChR subunits examined in dorsal root ganglia and a time-dependent downregulation of discrete subunits, particularly in the cingulate cortex an

SUBMITTER: Brunori G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6193825 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature