ReviewBrain sciences2020
Association between Chronic Pain and Alterations in the Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System.
Review in Brain sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rethinking chronic pain in the emergency department: a threat reduction approach to care.CJEM · 2026Article
- Review
- From the Pain Matrix to Functional Networks: A Narrative Review of Chronic Pain Mechanisms Across Adult and Pediatric Populations with Emerging AI Perspectives.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Neurobiology of Anxiety and Depression in CP/CPPS: A Narrative Review of Underlying Mechanisms.Neurology international · 2026Review
- Mesocorticolimbic circuitry in episodic migraine: reward- and punishment-related responses and resting-state connectivity.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Towards Restoring Dopaminergic Balance in Fibromyalgia: The Untapped Potential of Nonpharmacological Interventions.Pain research & management · 2026Review
- Electroacupuncture alleviates Parkinson's disease-related pain by inhibiting microglial NLRP3-ASC inflammasome in the amygdala.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas · 2026Article
- Atogepant modulates brain connectivity in episodic migraine: a longitudinal exploratory fMRI study.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
- Inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine diminishes connectivity between the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens: relevance to pathologies of mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Dysregulation of Hedonic Processing in Chronic Pain: Insights from Preclinical Data.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Activation of the zona incerta GABAergic circuit for the treatment of pain hypersensitivity in Parkinson's disease mice model.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Mapping cross-modal functional connectivity of major neurotransmitter systems in the human brain.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- Temporomandibular disorders and mental health: shared etiologies and treatment approaches.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Review
- The bidirectional relationship between pain and tobacco use: Insights from the longitudinal Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- GluN2D-containing NMDA receptors in parvalbumin neurons in the nucleus accumbens regulate nocifensive responses in neuropathic pain.Neurobiology of disease · 2025Article
- Amitriptyline-perphenazine therapy for persistent idiopathic facial pain: translational perspectives from a retrospective study.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2024Article
- Article
- Parkinsonian central pain is linked to the connectivity of the nucleus accumbens and the anterior insula.Neuroimage. Reports · 2024Article
- Exercise-induced neuroplasticity: a new perspective on rehabilitation for chronic low back pain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2024Article
- The Roles of Endogenous D2R Dopamine and μ-opioid Receptors of the Brain in Alcohol use Disorder.Current medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Chronic pain (pain lasting for >3 months) decreases patient quality of life and even occupational abilities. It can be controlled by treatment, but often persists even after management. To properly control pain, its underlying mechanisms must be determined. This review outlines the role of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system in chronic pain. The mesolimbic system, a neural circuit, delivers dopamine from the ventral tegmental area to neural structures such as the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and amygdala. It controls executive, affective, and motivational functions. Chronic pain patients suffer from low dopamine production and delivery in this system. The volumes of structures constituting the mesolimbic system are known to be decreased in such patients. Studies on administration of dopaminergic drugs to control chronic pain, with a focus on increasing low dopamine levels in the mesolimbic system, show that it is effective in patients with Parkinson's disease, restless legs syndrome, fibromyalgia, dry mouth syndrome, lumbar radicular pain, and chronic back pain. However, very few studies have confirmed these effects, and dopaminergic drugs are not commonly used to treat the various diseases causing chronic pain. Thus, further studies are required to determine the effectiveness of such treatment for chronic pain.
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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.