ArticleNature neuroscience2021
Pain induces adaptations in ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons to drive anhedonia-like behavior.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers.
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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
76 citing papers in PubMed, 125 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation modulates the functional connectivity of the descending pain modulation system and reward network in patients with chronic low back pain.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025Trial
- The multilevel exploration test, a novel paradigm to measure exploratory behavior in depression animal models and the involvement of the PL-ZI circuit.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2026Article
- Dual regulatory mechanisms of the ZI-LHb circuit in SPS&S model mice: dissociable control of aversion and anxiety through distinct downstream targets.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Nigra-Subthalamic Dopaminergic Circuitry Modulates and Represents Distinct Pain Modality in Physiological and Pain States in Mice.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- A repeated low-dose regimen of MDMA has transient next-day effects on locomotor activity, anxiety-like behavior, and brain serotonin levels, with no effect on anhedonia-like behavior, in both female and male rats.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Neural and psychosocial signatures of the comorbidity between pain and affective symptoms.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Distinct and Shared Brain-Wide Activation Patterns in Mouse Models of Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Emotional pain in non-human mammals: from neural circuitry and opioid signaling to dysthymia-like states, grief-like behaviors, and physiological dysregulation.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Review
- Review
- Upregulation of NR2A in Glutamatergic VTA Neurons Contributes to Chronic Visceral Pain in Male Mice.Neuroscience bulletin · 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
- Reduced SK channel control of mesolimbic dopamine neuron firing drives reward seeking adaptations in chronic pain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Morphine regulates astrocyte transcriptional dynamics in the ventral tegmental area by stimulation of glucocorticoid signaling.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Prelimbic cortical excitatory overdrive and inhibitory underdrive accompany environmental suppression of food seeking.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Inflammatory pain in mice induces light cycle-dependent effects on sleep architecture.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Tonic dopamine and biases in value learning linked through a biologically inspired reinforcement learning model.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Activation of the tail of the ventral tegmental area in response to pup predicting cues in maternal rats.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- Mapping Morphine's Antinociceptive Impact on the Ventral Tegmental Area During Nociceptive Stimulation: A Novel Microimaging Approach in a Neuropathic Pain Model.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The persistence of negative affect in pain leads to co-morbid symptoms such as anhedonia and depression-major health issues in the United States. The neuronal circuitry and contribution of specific cellular populations underlying these behavioral adaptations remains unknown. A common characteristic of negative affect is a decrease in motivation to initiate and complete goal-directed behavior, known as anhedonia. We report that in rodents, inflammatory pain decreased the activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons, which are critical mediators of motivational states. Pain increased rostromedial tegmental nucleus inhibitory tone onto VTA DA neurons, making them less excitable. Furthermore, the decreased activity of DA neurons was associated with reduced motivation for natural rewards, consistent with anhedonia-like behavior. Selective activation of VTA DA neurons was sufficient to restore baseline motivation and hedonic responses to natural rewards. These findings reveal pain-induced adaptations within VTA DA neurons that underlie anhedonia-like behavior.
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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.