30-Second Blog “Snapshot:”
- According to researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas, dopamine, often referred to as the “pleasure hormone,” may also promote chronic pain.
- Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that manages different functions like cognition, movement and reward-motivation behavior.
- The leaders in Utah pain management at Southwest Spine and Pain Center discuss how the brain chemical dopamine affects chronic pain.
What is Dopamine?
Dopamine, is an essential neurotransmitter that helps control pleasure centers in the brain. When you think about a long-term goal or reward you want, and decide to take action to achieve it, that’s dopamine helping regulate the movement and emotional response in your brain to help you obtain that goal.
Interestingly enough, low dopamine activity in people could be linked to addiction, dopamine deficiencies can result in Parkinson’s disease, and individuals with a certain dopamine receptor are commonly referred to as “risk takers” or “sensation seekers.”
The Research Behind Dopamine Affecting Chronic Pain
When it comes to chronic pain, researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas found that by removing a collection of neurons in the brain that contain dopamine, chronic pain can effectively be diminished.
They came to this conclusion by analyzing a sequence of pain impulses traveling from the brain to the spinal cord in mice. According to Dr. Ted Price, associate professor at the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences in UT Dallas, this finding may open up new opportunities for developing medicines that reverse chronic pain.
For those with normal functioning and control over pain, pain signals travel from an injury to the spinal cord to then relay chemical pain signals to other cells. These pain signals will then deliver their “message” to neurons in the brain. That is how we feel pain. People with chronic pain will have these neurons continue to send signals to the brain with no known cause or injury.
According to the researchers of this study, the collection of neurons called A11, may be to blame. These neurons have a profound on chronic pain, and by targeting them, chronic pain may be reversed. More studies will need to be conducted before a medication or treatment can be developed.
For those with chronic pain that needs to be treated now, the leaders in Utah pain management at Southwest Spine and Pain Center provide a number of minimally invasive pain management treatment options that may work for you. Call us today to schedule your appointment!
If chronic pain is impacting your life, don't wait to schedule an appointment at Southwest Spine and Pain Center. With five locations in Utah and growing, the pain management specialists at Southwest Spine and Pain Center are dedicated to helping those who suffer from chronic pain live the life they want to! To schedule an appointment, visit our locations tab!
The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.