ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2020
The Medial Prefrontal Cortex as a Central Hub for Mental Comorbidities Associated with Chronic Pain.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cerebellar tDCS and pain modulation: a critical integrative and systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Brain stimulation targets for chronic pain: Insights from meta-analysis, functional connectivity and literature review.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Pooled it
- Neurobiology of osteoarthritis: a systematic review and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Lack of association between pretreatment glutamate/GABA and major depressive disorder treatment response.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Early risk factors and six month posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity following trauma.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Effects ofPain reports · 2026Article
- Effects of Kalanchoe pinnata, exercise, and stimulation on neuroinflammation, redox homeostasis, and neuropathic pain in a Wistar-rat model.World journal of experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic characteristics of plasma from Chinese ethnic minority patients with major depressive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sex-specific electrophysiological and behavioral responses to nitrous oxide in a murine model of neuropathic pain.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Dynamic coupling of emotion and pain: from perception to affective response.The Korean journal of pain · 2026Review
- Supraspinal Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Itch Processing.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Differential Effects of Turmeric Bioactive Compounds on Neuroinflammation and Mitochondrial Homeostasis in Brain Regions in a Rodent Model of Neuropathic Pain.Metabolites · 2026Article
- Neurobiology of Anxiety and Depression in CP/CPPS: A Narrative Review of Underlying Mechanisms.Neurology international · 2026Review
- The medial prefrontal cortex as an integrative hub in chronic pain: network mechanisms and the enabling role of artificial intelligence.BioPsychoSocial medicine · 2026Article
- Concordance of cortical morphological anomalies with genetic predisposition to multisite chronic pain in females.The Korean journal of pain · 2026Article
- Chronic neuropathic pain alters reversal learning and prefrontal cortex activation without generalized deficits in reward-related behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Chronic Pain and Cognitive Dysfunction: Clinical Implement, Mechanism, and Therapeutic Strategy.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Review
- A top-down neural circuit for affective-motivational responses of pain relief induced by electroacupuncture.Chinese medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Microglial CR3-mediated synaptic pruning in the dmPFC promotes the generation and maintenance of chronic muscle pain via glutamatergic dysfunction.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2026Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Chronic pain patients frequently develop and suffer from mental comorbidities such as depressive mood, impaired cognition, and other significant constraints of daily life, which can only insufficiently be overcome by medication. The emotional and cognitive components of pain are processed by the medial prefrontal cortex, which comprises the anterior cingulate cortex, the prelimbic, and the infralimbic cortex. All three subregions are significantly affected by chronic pain: magnetic resonance imaging has revealed gray matter loss in all these areas in chronic pain conditions. While the anterior cingulate cortex appears hyperactive, prelimbic, and infralimbic regions show reduced activity. The medial prefrontal cortex receives ascending, nociceptive input, but also exerts important top-down control of pain sensation: its projections are the main cortical input of the periaqueductal gray, which is part of the descending inhibitory pain control system at the spinal level. A multitude of neurotransmitter systems contributes to the fine-tuning of the local circuitry, of which cholinergic and GABAergic signaling are particularly emerging as relevant components of affective pain processing within the prefrontal cortex. Accordingly, factors such as distraction, positive mood, and anticipation of pain relief such as placebo can ameliorate pain by affecting mPFC function, making this cortical area a promising target region for medical as well as psychosocial interventions for pain therapy.
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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.