Abstract
Pain is an ancient physiological system of alert, protecting organisms from real or potential bodily damage. Pain experience is a complex phenomenon involving the orchestration of different multilayer mechanisms accounting for the transduction, transmission, and modulation of the nociceptive input. Early evidence from genetic and pharmacological manipulation studies of serotonin signaling in acute and chronic pain models have converged to support the notion that serotonin is a pivotal neuromodulator of nociception at several of its generation and controlling steps. Its actions seem to be complex and depend on a number of factors such as the site of action, the cell type, and the type of receptor targeted, exerting both facilitatory and inhibitory actions. Assuming this complexity may significantly hamper a quick overview of the topic by a nonspecialized audience, this chapter aims to summarize our current knowledge about the role of serotonin in pain (including nociceptive transduction, transmission, and modulation from the brain) and the contribution of its dysregulation to pain disturbances during chronic pain. Implications of this knowledge for pharmacological management of pain and drug development are discussed as well.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Serotonin System |
| Subtitle of host publication | History, Neuropharmacology, and Pathology |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Pages | 203-224 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128133231 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780128133248 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- Analgesia
- Antidepressants
- Chronic pain
- Descending pain modulation
- Diffuse noxious inhibitory control
- Hyperalgesia
- Pain transmission
- Serotonin (5-HT)