Synchronized cluster firing, a distinct form of sensory neuron activation, drives spontaneous pain.

ABSTRACT: Spontaneous pain refers to pain occurring without external stimuli. It is a primary complaint in chronic pain conditions and remains difficult to treat. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying spontaneous pain remain poorly understood. Here we employed in vivo imaging of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and discovered a distinct form of abnormal spontaneous activity following peripheral nerve injury: clusters of adjacent DRG neurons firing synchronously and sporadically. The level of cluster firing correlated directly with nerve injury-induced spontaneous pain behaviors. Furthermore, we demonstrated that cluster firing is triggered by activity of sympathetic nerves, which sprout into DRGs after injury, and identified norepinephrine as a key neurotransmitter mediating this unique firing. Chem

SUBMITTER: Zheng Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8776619 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature