The Inhibitory Neuronal Circuit of Spinal Cord in Neuropathic Pain

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Aim of review: Inhibitory interneurons, including GABAergic neurons and glycine neurons, regulate nociceptive information and non-nociceptive information in spinal dorsal horn. Emerging evidence showed that disinhibition of inhibitory interneurons of neuronal circuit in spinal dorsal horn is a pivotal mechanism of neuropathic pain after nerve injury.Method: In this view, we summarized the recent researches of the structure of inhibitory neurons in spinal dorsal horn and disinhibition of inhibitory interneurons after nerve injury and discussed the primary mechanism.Recent findings: Much progress has been made with the construction of inhibitory neuronal network in spinal dorsal horn and the dysfunction of inhibitory interneurons in these networks since inhibitory interneurons in spinal dorsal horn firstly integrate nociceptive information and non-nociceptive information from primary afferent fiber and separate non-nociceptive stimuli from nociceptive information. Disinhibitory of inhibitory interneurons underlies hyperalgesia and allodynia after nerve injury.Summary: Loss of inhibitory function of neurons in inhibitory network in the dorsal horn contributes to hyperalgesia and allodynia. The findings of these inhibitory networks provide a new evidence for preventing and curing neuropathic pain. Citation: Hui-Qun Fu, Tian-Long Wang. The inhibitory neuronal circuit of spinal cord in neuropathic pain. J Anesth Perioper Med 2016; 3: 132-141. doi: 10.24015/JAPM.2016.0018This is an open-access article, published by Evidence Based Communications (EBC). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format for any lawful purpose. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.