Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24334188›Full record

ReviewPain2014

Constructing and deconstructing the gate theory of pain.

Lorne M Mendell

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Pain, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 137 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
137citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
7.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03992820 naterminatednot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

The Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Versus Local Anaesthetic Cream in Alleviating the Pain of Local Anaesthetic Injections in Adults - A Randomised Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity Hospitals, LeicesterRan2019 to 2020Enrolled8ConditionsDonor Site Complication, Skin GraftArmsTENS machine, EMLA cream
NCT05362383 nacompletednot on this map

Use of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for the Recovery of Oral Function After Orthognathic Surgery

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversidad Complutense de MadridRan2013 to 2020Enrolled47ConditionsOrthognathic Surgery, Physiology, Transcutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationArmstranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS):Enraf Nonius® S82 model
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

137 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 379 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Evaluating the use of augmented reality in alleviating anxiety and pain in children during intraoral injection administration: a randomized-controlled trial.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2026
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  18. Adhesive pyramidal thorn patches provide pain relief to athletes.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2019
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77 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lorne M MendellDepartment of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
In-Q-Tel · US

Funding

MECHANISMS OF PLASTICITY IN NEURONAL CONNECTIONSR01NS016996 · NINDS · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · PI MENDELL, LORNE M · 1985 to 2011
$3.9M
NINDS NIH HHS 5 R01 NS 16996NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS016996
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The gate theory of pain, published by Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall in Science in 1965, was formulated to provide a mechanism for coding the nociceptive component of cutaneous sensory input. The theory dealt explicitly with the apparent conflict in the 1960s between the paucity of sensory neurons that responded selectively to intense stimuli and the well-established finding that stimulation of the small fibers in peripheral nerves is required for the stimulus to be described as painful. It incorporated recently discovered mechanisms of presynaptic control of synaptic transmission from large and small sensory afferents, which was suggested to "gate" incoming information depending on the balance between these inputs. Other important features included the convergence of small and large sensory inputs on spinal neurons that transmitted the sensory information to the forebrain as well as the ability of descending control pathways to affect the biasing established by the gate. The clarity of the model and its description gave this article immediate visibility, with numerous attempts made to test its various predictions. Although subsequent experiments and clinical findings have made clear that the model is not correct in detail, the general ideas put forth in the article and the experiments they prompted in both animals and patients have transformed our understanding of pain mechanisms.

Indexed as

AnimalsGanglia, SpinalHumansNeural InhibitionNeurons, AfferentPainPosterior Horn CellsPresynaptic TerminalsSensory GatingDorsal hornDorsal root potentialsGate theoryNociceptorPresynaptic inhibitionSubstantia gelatinosaTENS

Identifiers

PMID24334188
PMCPMC4009371
OpenAlexW2068692900

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.