Abstract
In an effort to visualize the endogenous activation of the opioid system during sustained pain, University of Michigan researchers injected salt water into the jaw muscles of healthy volunteers for 20 mins and obtained PET scans with a μ-opioid receptor radiotracer. The report, published in the July 13 issue of Science, shows endogenously released neurochemicals interact with receptors in regions of the cingulate, prefrontal and insular corticies, in addition to the amygdala, thalamus and hypothalamus. Furthermore, there was a huge variation among subjects in the baseline and pain-induced levels of opioids, with larger activation of the opioid system correlating with lower sensory and affective ratings to the sustained pain stimulus. As the μ-opioid receptor is a target for the body's own painkillers, pain medications, anesthetics, and street drugs such as heroin, this study provides some interesting evidence for individual differences in pain tolerance and responses to pharmacologic agents. LO
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