Identifying the Neurodevelopmental Differences of Opioid Withdrawal.

Stopping opioid medications can result in a debilitating withdrawal syndrome in chronic users. Opioid withdrawal can occur at all ages, but mechanistic understanding of this condition is predominantly derived from adult studies. Here, we examined whether there are age-dependent differences in the behavioural phenotype and cellular indices of opioid withdrawal. We tested this by assessing the behavioural and cFos response (a surrogate marker for neuronal activation) to morphine withdrawal in C57BL/6J mice across key developmental stages-neonatal, adolescent, and adulthood. Mice in all age groups received escalating doses of morphine (10-50 mg/kg) over 5 days and withdrawal was precipitated by a single injection of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (2 mg/kg) two hours after the last morphine dose. In adult and adolescent mice, withdrawal behaviours were robust, with age-related differences in autonomic and somatic signs. In both groups, cFos expression was increased in spinally projecting neurons within the Periaqueductal Grey (PAG), Rostro-ventromedial Medulla (RVM), and Locus Coeruleus. Neonatal animals displayed both a distinct behavioural withdrawal and cFos expression profile. Notably, in young animals cFos expression was increased within the PAG and LC, but decreased in the RVM. In summary, naloxone challenge precipitated robust opioid withdrawal behaviours across all developmental stages with neonatal animals displaying differences in withdrawal behaviours and unique neuronal activation patterns within key brainstem regions.

Spinal interleukin-6 contributes to central sensitisation and persistent pain hypersensitivity in a model of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Pain is the most debilitating symptom in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. As pain correlates poorly to the extent of joint pathology, therapies that control joint inflammation are often inadequate as analgesics. We test the hypothesis that juvenile joint inflammation leads to sensitisation of nociceptive circuits in the central nervous system, which is maintained by cytokine expression in the spinal cord. Here, transient joint inflammation was induced in postnatal day (P)21 and P40 male Sprague-Dawley rats with a single intra-articular ankle injection of complete Freund's adjuvant. Hindpaw mechanical pain sensitivity was assessed using von Frey hair and weight bearing tests. Spinal neuron activity was measured using in vivo extracellular recording and immunohistochemistry. Joint and spinal dorsal horn TNFα, IL1ß and IL6 protein expression was quantified using western blotting. We observed greater mechanical hyperalgesia following joint inflammation in P21 compared to P40 rats, despite comparable duration of swelling and joint inflammatory cytokine levels. This is mirrored by spinal neuron hypersensitivity, which also outlasted the duration of active joint inflammation. The cytokine profile in the spinal cord differed at the two ages: prolonged upregulation of spinal IL6 was observed in P21, but not P40 rats. Finally, spinal application of anti-IL-6 antibody (30 ng) reduced the mechanical hyperalgesia and neuronal activation. Our results indicate that persistent upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the spinal dorsal horn is associated with neuronal sensitisation and mechanical hyperalgesia in juvenile rats, beyond the progress of joint pathology. In addition, we provide proof of concept that spinal IL6 is a key target for treating persistent pain in JIA.

Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks-American Pain Society-American Academy of Pain Medicine Pain Taxonomy Diagnostic Criteria for Acute Needle Pain.

Needle procedures are among the most common causes of pain and distress for individuals seeking health care. While needle pain is especially problematic for children needle pain and associated fear also has significant impact on adults and can lead to avoidance of appropriate medical care. Currently there is not a standard definition of needle pain. A taxonomy, or classification system, for acute needle pain would aid research efforts and enhance clinical care. To meet this need, the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks public-private partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the American Pain Society, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine formed the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks-American Pain Society-American Academy of Pain Medicine Pain Taxonomy initiative. One of the goals of this initiative was to develop taxonomies for acute pain disorders, including needle pain. To accomplish this, a working group of experts in needle pain was convened. Based on available literature and expert opinion, the working group used a 5-dimenional structure (diagnostic criteria, common features, modulating factors, impact and/or functional consequences, and putative mechanisms) to develop an acute pain taxonomy that is specific needle pain. As part of this, a set of 4 diagnostic criteria, with 2 modifiers to account for the influence of needle associated fear, are proposed to define the types of acute needle pain. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents a taxonomy for acute needle pain. This taxonomy could help to standardize definitions of acute pain in clinical studies of patients undergoing needle procedures.

Prevalence and childhood antecedents of depersonalization syndrome in a UK birth cohort.

PURPOSE: Depersonalization syndrome is characterised by a sense of unreality about the self [depersonalization (DP)] and/or the outside world [derealization (DR)]. Prevalence estimates vary widely. Little is known about childhood antecedents of the disorder although emotional abuse is thought to play a role. METHODS: Longitudinal data from 3,275 participants of a UK population-based birth cohort (the MRC National Survey of Health and Development) were used to: (1) assess the prevalence of DP syndrome at age 36, measured by the Present State Examination (PSE); and (2) examine the effects of a range of socio-demographic, childhood adversity and emotional responses as potential risk factors for DP. RESULTS: Thirty three survey members were classified with DP, yielding a prevalence of 0.95% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.56-1.34]. There were no associations with socio-economic status, parental death or divorce; self-reported accidents, childhood depression, tendency to daydream or reactions to criticism. However, teacher-estimated childhood anxiety was a strong independent predictor of adult depersonalization, and there were strong cross-sectional relationships between DP and anxiety and depression caseness. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first study assessing nationwide prevalence of the DP syndrome and uses longitudinal data to explore childhood risk factors for adult DP. The prevalence of adult DP was slightly lower than reported by other surveys. The study found that childhood anxiety was the only significant predictor of the adult DP syndrome, supporting the view that depersonalisation disorder forms part of the spectrum of responses to anxiety.

Role of Primary Afferents in Arthritis Induced Spinal Microglial Reactivity.

Increased afferent input resulting from painful injury augments the activity of central nociceptive circuits via both neuron-neuron and neuron-glia interactions. Microglia, resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. This study provides a framework for understanding how peripheral joint injury signals the CNS to engage spinal microglial responses. During the first week of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced knee joint injury in male rats, inflammatory and neuropathic pain were characterized by increased firing of peripheral joint afferents. This increased peripheral afferent activity was accompanied by increased Iba1 immunoreactivity within the spinal dorsal horn indicating microglial activation. Pharmacological silencing of C and A afferents with co-injections of QX-314 and bupivacaine, capsaicin, or flagellin prevented the development of mechanical allodynia and spinal microglial activity after MIA injection. Elevated levels of ATP in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and increased expression of the ATP transporter vesicular nucleotide transporter (VNUT) in the ipsilateral spinal dorsal horn were also observed after MIA injections. Selective silencing of primary joint afferents subsequently inhibited ATP release into the CSF. Furthermore, increased spinal microglial reactivity, and alleviation of MIA-induced arthralgia with co-administration of QX-314 with bupivacaine were recapitulated in female rats. Our results demonstrate that early peripheral joint injury activates joint nociceptors, which triggers a central spinal microglial response. Elevation of ATP in the CSF, and spinal expression of VNUT suggest ATP signaling may modulate communication between sensory neurons and spinal microglia at 2 weeks of joint degeneration.

The Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Sensorimotor Function in a Thoracolumbar Mouse Spinal Cord Injury Model.

Spinal cord injury and peripheral nerve injuries are traumatic events that greatly impact quality of life. One factor that is being explored throughout patient care is the idea of diet and the role it has on patient outcomes. But the effects of diet following neurotrauma need to be carefully explored in animal models to ensure that they have beneficial effects. The ketogenic diet provides sufficient daily caloric requirements while being potentially neuroprotective and analgesic. In this study, animals were fed a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that led to a high concentration of blood ketone that was sustained for as long as the animals were on the diet. Mice fed a ketogenic diet had significantly lower levels of tyrosine and tryptophan, but the levels of other monoamines within the spinal cord remained similar to those of control mice. Mice were fed a standard or ketogenic diet for 7 d before and 28 d following the injury. Our results show that mice hemisected over the T10-T11 vertebrae showed no beneficial effects of being on a ketogenic diet over a 28 d recovery period. Similarly, ligation of the common peroneal and tibial nerve showed no differences between mice fed normal or ketogenic diets. Tests included von Frey, open field, and ladder-rung crossing. We add to existing literature showing protective effects of the ketogenic diet in forelimb injuries by focusing on neurotrauma in the hindlimbs. The results suggest that ketogenic diets need to be assessed based on the type and location of neurotrauma.

A dynamic role for dopamine receptors in the control of mammalian spinal networks.

Dopamine is well known to regulate movement through the differential control of direct and indirect pathways in the striatum that express D1 and D2 receptors respectively. The spinal cord also expresses all dopamine receptors; however, how the specific receptors regulate spinal network output in mammals is poorly understood. We explore the receptor-specific mechanisms that underlie dopaminergic control of spinal network output of neonatal mice during changes in spinal network excitability. During spontaneous activity, which is a characteristic of developing spinal networks operating in a low excitability state, we found that dopamine is primarily inhibitory. We uncover an excitatory D1-mediated effect of dopamine on motoneurons and network output that also involves co-activation with D2 receptors. Critically, these excitatory actions require higher concentrations of dopamine; however, analysis of dopamine concentrations of neonates indicates that endogenous levels of spinal dopamine are low. Because endogenous levels of spinal dopamine are low, this excitatory dopaminergic pathway is likely physiologically-silent at this stage in development. In contrast, the inhibitory effect of dopamine, at low physiological concentrations is mediated by parallel activation of D2, D3, D4 and α2 receptors which is reproduced when endogenous dopamine levels are increased by blocking dopamine reuptake and metabolism. We provide evidence in support of dedicated spinal network components that are controlled by excitatory D1 and inhibitory D2 receptors that is reminiscent of the classic dopaminergic indirect and direct pathway within the striatum. These results indicate that network state is an important factor that dictates receptor-specific and therefore dose-dependent control of neuromodulators on spinal network output and advances our understanding of how neuromodulators regulate neural networks under dynamically changing excitability.

Repeated touch and needle-prick stimulation in the neonatal period increases the baseline mechanical sensitivity and postinjury hypersensitivity of adult spinal sensory neurons.

Noxious stimulation at critical stages of development has long-term consequences on somatosensory processing in later life, but it is not known whether this developmental plasticity is restricted to nociceptive pathways. Here, we investigate the effect of repeated neonatal noxious or innocuous hind paw stimulation on adult spinal dorsal horn cutaneous mechanical sensitivity. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats of both sexes received 4 unilateral left hind paw needle pricks (NPs, n = 13) or 4 tactile (cotton swab touch) stimuli, per day (TC, n = 11) for the first 7 days of life. Control pups were left undisturbed (n = 17). When adult (6-8 weeks), lumbar wide-dynamic-range neuron activity in laminae III-V was recorded using in vivo extracellular single-unit electrophysiology. Spike activity evoked by cutaneous dynamic tactile (brush), pinch and punctate (von Frey hair) stimulation, and plantar receptive field areas were recorded, at baseline and 2 and 5 days after left plantar hind paw incision. Baseline brush receptive fields, von Frey hair, and pinch sensitivity were significantly enhanced in adult NP and TC animals compared with undisturbed controls, although effects were greatest in NP rats. After incision, injury sensitivity of adult wide-dynamic-range neurons to both noxious and dynamic tactile hypersensitivity was significantly greater in NP animals compared with TC and undisturbed controls. We conclude that both repeated touch and needle-prick stimulation in the neonatal period can alter adult spinal sensory neuron sensitivity to both innocuous and noxious mechanical stimulation. Thus, spinal sensory circuits underlying touch and pain processing are shaped by a range of early-life somatosensory experiences.

Microglial P2X4R-evoked pain hypersensitivity is sexually dimorphic in rats.

Microglia-neuron signalling in the spinal cord is a key mediator of mechanical allodynia caused by peripheral nerve injury. We recently reported sex differences in microglia in pain signalling in mice: spinal mechanisms underlying nerve injury-induced allodynia are microglial dependent in male but not female mice. Whether this sex difference in pain hypersensitivity mechanisms is conserved in other species is unknown. Here, we show that in rats, the spinal mechanisms of nerve injury-induced hypersensitivity in males differ from those in females, with microglial P2X4 receptors (P2X4Rs) being a key point of divergence. In rats, nerve injury produced comparable allodynia and reactive microgliosis in both sexes. However, inhibiting microglia in the spinal cord reversed allodynia in male rats but not female rats. In addition, pharmacological blockade of P2X4Rs, by an intrathecally administered antagonist, attenuated pain hypersensitivity in male rats only. Consistent with the behavioural findings, nerve injury increased cell surface expression and function of P2X4Rs in acutely isolated spinal microglia from male rats but not from female rats. Moreover, in microglia cultured from male rats, but not in those from female rats, stimulating P2X4Rs drove intracellular signalling through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR revealed that the transcription factor IRF5 differentially binds to the P2rx4 promoter region in female rats vs male rats. Finally, mechanical allodynia was produced in otherwise naive rats by intrathecally administering P2X4R-stimulated microglia from male rats but not those from female rats. Together, our findings demonstrate the existence of sexually dimorphic pain signalling in rats, suggesting that this sex difference is evolutionarily conserved, at least across rodent species.

Microglial pannexin-1 channel activation is a spinal determinant of joint pain.

Chronic joint pain such as mechanical allodynia is the most debilitating symptom of arthritis, yet effective therapies are lacking. We identify the pannexin-1 (Panx1) channel as a therapeutic target for alleviating mechanical allodynia, a cardinal sign of arthritis. In rats, joint pain caused by intra-articular injection of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) was associated with spinal adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) release and a microglia-specific up-regulation of P2X7 receptors (P2X7Rs). Blockade of P2X7R or ablation of spinal microglia prevented and reversed mechanical allodynia. P2X7Rs drive Panx1 channel activation, and in rats with mechanical allodynia, Panx1 function was increased in spinal microglia. Specifically, microglial Panx1-mediated release of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) induced mechanical allodynia in the MIA-injected hindlimb. Intrathecal administration of the Panx1-blocking peptide 10panx suppressed the aberrant discharge of spinal laminae I-II neurons evoked by innocuous mechanical hindpaw stimulation in arthritic rats. Furthermore, mice with a microglia-specific genetic deletion of Panx1 were protected from developing mechanical allodynia. Treatment with probenecid, a clinically used broad-spectrum Panx1 blocker, resulted in a striking attenuation of MIA-induced mechanical allodynia and normalized responses in the dynamic weight-bearing test, without affecting acute nociception. Probenecid reversal of mechanical allodynia was also observed in rats 13 weeks after anterior cruciate ligament transection, a model of posttraumatic osteoarthritis. Thus, Panx1-targeted therapy is a new mechanistic approach for alleviating joint pain.

Integration of Descending Command Systems for the Generation of Context-Specific Locomotor Behaviors.

Over the past decade there has been a renaissance in our understanding of spinal cord circuits; new technologies are beginning to provide key insights into descending circuits which project onto spinal cord central pattern generators. By integrating work from both the locomotor and animal behavioral fields, we can now examine context-specific control of locomotion, with an emphasis on descending modulation arising from various regions of the brainstem. Here we examine approach and avoidance behaviors and the circuits that lead to the production and arrest of locomotion.

Age-dependent plasticity in endocannabinoid modulation of pain processing through postnatal development.

Significant age- and experience-dependent remodelling of spinal and supraspinal neural networks occur, resulting in altered pain responses in early life. In adults, endogenous opioid peptide and endocannabinoid (ECs) pain control systems exist which modify pain responses, but the role they play in acute responses to pain and postnatal neurodevelopment is unknown. Here, we have studied the changing role of the ECs in the brainstem nuclei essential for the control of nociception from birth to adulthood in both rats and humans. Using in vivo electrophysiology, we show that substantial functional changes occur in the effect of microinjection of ECs receptor agonists and antagonists in the periaqueductal grey (PAG) and rostroventral medulla (RVM), both of which play central roles in the supraspinal control of pain and the maintenance of chronic pain states in adulthood. We show that in immature PAG and RVM, the orphan receptor, GPR55, is able to mediate profound analgesia which is absent in adults. We show that tissue levels of endocannabinoid neurotransmitters, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, within the PAG and RVM are developmentally regulated (using mass spectrometry). The expression patterns and levels of ECs enzymes and receptors were assessed using quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. In human brainstem, we show age-related alterations in the expression of key enzymes and receptors involved in ECs function using PCR and in situ hybridisation. These data reveal that significant changes on ECs that to this point have been unknown and which shed new light into the complex neurochemical changes that permit normal, mature responses to pain.

Postnatal maturation of endogenous opioid systems within the periaqueductal grey and spinal dorsal horn of the rat.

Significant opioid-dependent changes occur during the fourth postnatal week in supraspinal sites (rostroventral medulla [RVM], periaqueductal grey [PAG]) that are involved in the descending control of spinal excitability via the dorsal horn (DH). Here we report developmentally regulated changes in the opioidergic signalling within the PAG and DH, which further increase our understanding of pain processing during early life. Microinjection of the µ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist DAMGO (30 ng) into the PAG of Sprague-Dawley rats increased spinal excitability and lowered mechanical threshold to noxious stimuli in postnatal day (P)21 rats, but had inhibitory effects in adults and lacked efficacy in P10 pups. A tonic opioidergic tone within the PAG was revealed in adult rats by intra-PAG microinjection of CTOP (120 ng, MOR antagonist), which lowered mechanical thresholds and increased spinal reflex excitability. Spinal administration of DAMGO inhibited spinal excitability in all ages, yet the magnitude of this was greater in younger animals than in adults. The expression of MOR and related peptides were also investigated using TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. We found that pro-opiomelanocortin peaked at P21 in the ventral PAG, and MOR increased significantly in the DH as the animals aged. Enkephalin mRNA transcripts preceded the increase in enkephalin immunoreactive fibres in the superficial dorsal horn from P21 onwards. These results illustrate that profound differences in the endogenous opioidergic signalling system occur throughout postnatal development.