research

Pain is a subjective experience that cannot be directly measured or quantified. This has spurred the pain field’s search for biomarkers: molecules, genes, or other biological factors that could…

For decades, antidepressants have been a first-line treatment for neuropathic pain. Yet how these drugs function at the cellular and molecular level to produce analgesia is not well understood,…

Past experiences shape our expectations about the future, and those expectations can simultaneously affect how we experience new events. Sometimes this can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy where people…

Botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, inhibits neuronal signaling by blocking neurotransmitter release, leading to paralysis. Researchers from University College London (UCL), UK; the University…

Non-peptide opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl bind to opioid receptors (ORs) on the neuronal cell membrane, just as naturally occurring peptide OR ligands do, to bring about analgesia.…

Patients who take opioids for chronic pain typically develop tolerance to these drugs. Now, researchers led by Taka-aki Koshimizu, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Japan, and Yukio Takano, Fukuoka University,…

Pain researchers and advocates are cheering the announcement of the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, which promises to roughly double US National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding…

Survival is the prime directive of every animal, and it takes work. Animals are under constant threat from starvation, thirst, extreme temperatures, and life-threatening injury and illness. But when…

For decades, researchers have looked for the molecular sensors tuned to potentially harmful heat. Now, a team led by Joris Vriens and Thomas Voets, University of Leuven, Belgium, has…

Opioids provide rapid and potent pain relief, but these drugs are associated with numerous side effects, including respiratory depression, tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Now, a new study led by…

Animals, including humans, can sense mechanical force in a myriad of forms―as light touch, vibration, and even muscle tension, among others. Yet all of these seem to be detected…