Hippocampal Abnormalities as a Biological Mechanism in Chronic Pain: A Critical Review

Abstract

Chronic pain is a common medical issue that impacts the daily lives of more than 50 million Americans making it the leading cause of disability in the United States and the most common reason people seek medical care. Studies have shown that the limbic system plays an important part in the experience of chronic pain, however, of all the components of the corticolimbic system, the hippocampus has been studied less systematically in terms of its impact on chronic pain. This paper analyzed four studies that were published between 2019 and 2023 that examined the role of hippocampal abnormalities in chronic pain patients to provide a critical review of the emerging literature on this topic. The focus of the papers included in this critical review encompasses a variety of chronic pain disorders and sources of pain. For each study, an overview of the methodology, main findings, and limitations was provided.