Logo image
A possible role of the locus coeruleus in complex regional pain syndrome
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A possible role of the locus coeruleus in complex regional pain syndrome

P.D. Drummond
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, Vol.6, Article 104
2012
pdf
A_possible_role_of_the_locus_coeruleus_in_complex_regional_pain_syndrome.pdfDownloadView
Published (Version of Record) Open Access
url
Link to Published Version *Subscription may be requiredView

Abstract

Heightened sensitivity to painful stimulation commonly spreads from the affected limb to the ipsilateral forehead in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). In addition, acoustic startle evokes greater auditory discomfort and increases in limb pain when presented on the affected than unaffected side. In contrast, limb pain ordinarily evokes analgesia in the ipsilateral forehead of healthy participants, and acoustic startle suppresses limb pain. Together, these findings suggest that hemilateral and generalized pain control mechanisms are disrupted in CRPS, and that multisensory integrative processes are compromised. Failure to inhibit nociceptive input from the CRPS-affected limb could sensitize spinal and supraspinal neurons that receive convergent nociceptive and auditory information from hemilateral body sites. Somatosensory, auditory and emotional inputs may then aggravate pain by feeding into this sensitized nociceptive network. In particular, a disturbance in hemilateral pain processing that involves the locus coeruleus could exacerbate the symptoms of CRPS in some patients.

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

Source: InCites

Metrics

232 File views/ downloads
91 Record Views
Logo image