Key result
The thalamus plays a key role in pain consciousness and the understanding of spontaneous and evoked pain in chronic pain conditions, based on its connections and nociceptive responsiveness.
The thalamus plays a critical role in acute and chronic pain processing and consciousness.
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Supports thalamic targeting in refractory pain; leaves open validation via prospective interventional trials.
The thalamus is a key relay station for the transmission of nociceptive information to the cerebral cortex. We review the input-output connection, functional imaging, direct neuronal recording, stimulation, and lesioning studies on the involvement of thalamus in acute and chronic pain functions. Based on its specific reciprocal connection with the cerebral cortex, strong nociceptive responsiveness, and the severe chronic pain when it is damaged, the thalamus may hold the key to pain consciousness and the key to understanding spontaneous and evoked pain in chronic pain conditions. A work plan is proposed for future study.
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Yen et al. (2013) conducted a review in Acute and chronic pain. The thalamus plays a key role in pain consciousness and the understanding of spontaneous and evoked pain in chronic pain conditions, based on its connections and nociceptive responsiveness.
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