A nociceptor-specific RNAi screen in larvae identifies RNA-binding proteins that regulate thermal nociception.

Nociception is the process by which sensory neurons detect and encode potentially harmful environmental stimuli to generate behavioral responses. Nociceptor neurons exhibit plasticity in which their sensitivity to noxious stimuli and subsequent ability to drive behavior may be altered by environmental conditions, injury, infection, and inflammation. In some cases, nociceptor sensitization requires regulated changes in gene expression, and recent studies have indicated roles for post-transcriptional mechanisms in regulating these changes as an aspect of nociceptor plasticity.