In the spinal cord, chronic pain can dramatically increase PACAP neurotransmitter levels (top panel, green fluorescent signal with arrows) on the affected side compared to the normal control side. The neurotransmitter signal travels in a neurocircuit that reaches the amygdala in the brain which controls stress-related behaviors (bottom panel, green area in cartoon denotes amygdala region).
New studies show increased expression of PACAP – a peptide neurotransmitter the body releases in response to stress – is also increased in response to neuropathic pain and contributes to these symptoms...
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