Embodied pain in fibromyalgia: Disturbed somatorepresentations and increased plasticity of the body schema.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a highly prevalent, chronic musculoskeletal condition characterized by widespread pain and evoked pain at tender points. This study evaluated various aspects of body awareness in a sample of 14 women with FMS and 13 healthy controls, such as plasticity of the body schema, body esteem, and interoceptive awareness. To this end, the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI), the Body Esteem Scale (BES), and the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ) were used, respectively.

Coupling of serotonergic input to NMDA receptor-phosphorylation following peripheral nerve injury via rapid, synaptic up-regulation of ND2.

Evidence implicates serotonergic input to spinal dorsal horn neurons in shifting the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) into a high functional output profile after spinal nerve ligation (SNL). We investigated the involvement of adaptor protein NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) in NMDAR-phosphorylation and spinal hyperexcitability secondary to peripheral nerve injury. Immunofluorescence for ND2 was found in dorsal horn neurons immunopositive for NMDAR subunit NR1.

Time-dependent cross talk between spinal serotonin 5-HT2A receptor and mGluR1 subserves spinal hyperexcitability and neuropathic pain after nerve injury.

Emerging evidence implicates serotonergic descending facilitatory pathways from the brainstem to the spinal cord in the maintenance of pathologic pain. Upregulation of the serotonin receptor 2A (5-HT(2A)R) in dorsal horn neurons promotes spinal hyperexcitation and impairs spinal μ-opioid mechanisms during neuropathic pain. We investigated the involvement of spinal glutamate receptors, including metabotropic receptors (mGluRs) and NMDA, in 5-HT(2A)R-induced hyperexcitability after spinal nerve ligation (SNL) in rat.