ArticleJournal of pain research2018
Gabapentin regulates dopaminergic neuron firing and theta oscillation in the ventral tegmental area to reverse depression-like behavior in chronic neuropathic pain state.
Article in Journal of pain research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- A case of dementia with Lewy bodies with psychosis induced by low-dose gabapentinoids.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- What do ultrasound vocalizations really mean in rats with different origins of pain?Pain reports · 2025Article
- Brain nuclei and neural circuits in neuropathic pain and brain modulation mechanisms of acupuncture: a review on animal-based experimental research.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Effect of gabapentin on neurogenesis in hippocampal dentate gyrus of adult rats with co-disease of chronic pain and depression.Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2022Article
- Activation of parabrachial nucleus - ventral tegmental area pathway underlies the comorbid depression in chronic neuropathic pain in mice.Cell reports · 2021Article
- KCNQ Channels in the Mesolimbic Reward Circuit Regulate Nociception in Chronic Pain in Mice.Neuroscience bulletin · 2021Article
- Behavioral, Biochemical and Electrophysiological Changes in Spared Nerve Injury Model of Neuropathic Pain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Formalin-induced and neuropathic pain altered time estimation in a temporal bisection task in rats.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Comparative risk of depressive disorder in patients with diabetic neuropathy treated with gabapentin versus duloxetine: Retrospective cohort study.Journal of family & community medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeVentral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine system plays an important role in depression and is also involved in pain experience. In this study, we investigated the VTA dopaminergic (DA) neuron firing and local field potential (LFP) in pain-related depression, and we try to explore the underlying relationship between pain and depression. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe used neuropathic pain model [spare nerve injury (SNI)] to induce pain-related depression. The Dixon up-down method was used to test mechanical hypersensitivity. Behavioral changes like open field test, sucrose preference test, and forced swim test were used to test depression-like behaviors. Gabapentin (GBP) was used to explore the chronic analgesic treatment that could reverse pain-related depression. To investigate the in vivo variations of VTA DA neuron firing and LFP, multichannel acquisition processor system was used.
resultsWe used SNI to induce depression-like behaviors. Repeated GBP treatment reversed these behaviors after 14 days of injection. An in vivo electrophysiological analysis of the firing characteristics of VTA DA neurons and LFP revealed that SNI increased the firing rate of DA neurons, but not the burst firing activity. Surprisingly, chronic GBP reversed the firing rate of DA neurons and reduced the burst firing activity. Moreover, SNI increased the LFP power in delta and theta oscillation and decreased it in beta oscillation. Repeated administration of GBP significantly suppressed theta oscillation. Above all, chronic GBP altered these characteristics to reverse depression-like behaviors.
conclusionThe present study confirmed that the tonic firing activity of VTA DA neurons, but not the burst firing activity, was the key factor in peripheral neuropathy-induced depression. Chronic GBP regulated the firing pattern of DA neurons and decreased theta oscillation in VTA to treat pain-related depression. This variation tendency of electrophysiological characteristics of VTA DA neurons and theta oscillation in VTA might represent an attempt to cope with pain-related negative mood disorder.
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