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(NAS Colloquium) The Neurobiology of Pain (1999) / Chapter Skim
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The Genetic Mediation of Individual Differences in Sensitivity to Pain and Its Inhibition
Pages 7744-7751

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From page 7744...
... Although the relative importance of genes versus experience in human pain perception remains unclear, rodent populations display large and heritable differences in both nociceptive and analgesic sensitivity. The identification and characterization of particularly divergent populations provides a powerful initial step in the genetic analysis of pain, because these models can be exploited to identify genes contributing to the behavior-level variability.
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From page 7745...
... Rodent populations of use for genetic analysis can either be produced (e.g., inbred strains, recombinant inbred strains, artificially selected lines, transgenics) or identified (e.g., spontaneous mutants)
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From page 7746...
... In addition to the quantitative strain differences compiled in Tables 1 and 2, some very intriguing qualitative strain differences of relevance to pain have been noted. For instance, a number of investigations have suggested that certain strains activate opioid analgesic systems after exposure to stress, whereas other strains produce approximately equivalent amounts of SIA, but of a non-opioid (i.e., naloxone-insensitive)
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From page 7747...
... That is, mice that are initially sensitive to noxious stimuli tend to exhibit modest analgesic responses to morphine, whereas mice that are relatively resistant to basal nociception exhibit robust morphine analgesia. In two separate studies using multiple Proc.
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From page 7748...
... Although familial hemiplegic migraine and episodic ataxia type 2 are rare, genetic factors are known to play a role in "normal" migraine as well, and common allelic variants of this or other ion channel genes may (or may not, ref.
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From page 7749...
... For example, a recent survey of supraspinal morphine analgesia in 11 inbred strains revealed no significant sex differences in morphine analgesic potency in seven of these strains (58~. In three strains (AKR, B6, and SWR)
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From page 7750...
... Thus, investigations into the psychosocial determinants of pain tolerance and pain behaviors must continue unabated. Nonetheless, knowledge of the genetic bases of pain-related traits may have important scientific and clinical implications, facilitating both the development of novel analgesic strategies and improved, idiosyncratic treatment of pain using conventional therapies.
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From page 7751...
... Colloquium Paper: Mogil 90.
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Key Terms

  • inbred strains
  • strain differences
  • individual differences
  • analgesic sensitivity
  • sex differences

  • genetic correlations
  • morphine analgesia
  • selected lines
  • genetic factors
  • pain sensitivity

  • recombinant inbred
  • noxious stimuli
  • nociceptive sensitivity
  • pain thresholds
  • genetic mediation

  • mouse strain
  • pressure pain
  • lines selectively
  • selectively bred
  • allelic variation

  • analgesic tolerance
  • mouse strains
  • genetic correlation
  • nociceptive assays
  • interindividual variability

  • pain proc
  • giving rise
  • opioid receptor
  • allelic variants
  • spontaneously hypertensive


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