Abstract
The role of affective dimension in the postoperative pain is still poorly understood. The present study investigated the development of anxiety-like behavior and amygdala sensitization in incisional pain. Using hind-paw incision model in rats, we showed that surgical incision induced the anxiety-like behavior as determined by elevated plus-maze and open-field tests. Intraperitoneal (IP) morphine administration reversed mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behavior in a dose-dependent manner. Gabapentin also partially reduced incision-evoked mechanical allodynia and anxiety-like behavior in a dose-dependent manner. After incision, the expression of phosphorylated cAMP response elements (CRE-) binding protein (p-CREB) was transiently upregulated in the central and basolateral nuclei in the bilateral amygdala. The upregulation of p-CREB was inhibited by morphine and gabapentin. The present study suggested that surgical incision could induce anxiety and amygdala sensitization that can be inhibited by morphine and gabapentin. Thus treatment of surgery-induced affective disturbances by morphine and gabapentin may be a potential important adjunct therapy in the postoperative pain management.
Highlights
Pain can be thought of as having sensory dimension and affective dimension which is made up of feelings of unpleasantness and emotions [1]
The present study suggested that surgical incision could induce anxiety and amygdala sensitization that can be inhibited by morphine and gabapentin
The paw-withdrawal threshold (PWT) in the operated paw dramatically decreased from 43.3 ± 5.2 g to 4.4 ± 2.2 g as early as 1 hour after right hindpaw surgical incision (Figure 1(a); P < .01)
Summary
Pain can be thought of as having sensory dimension and affective dimension which is made up of feelings of unpleasantness and emotions [1]. Numerous studies have shown that various chronic pain states are accompanied by the negative affects such as anxiety and depression [2,3,4,5]. The affective disturbances have a reciprocal relationship with chronic pain in which each disorder may make the patients more vulnerable to the other disorder. Patients with chronic pain developed depression whereas anxiety could promote the chronic pain state [6]. The accompanied negative affects in patients with chronic pain are very important comorbidities and decrease life quality [2, 11, 12]. Most studies about the roles of affects and its relationship with pain sensation are limited in the chronic pain states [13,14,15]. It still remains to be determined the role of affective dimension in postoperative pain, an acute pain state
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