| Budget Amount *help |
¥17,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,050,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥7,150,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,650,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The comorbidity of chronic pain and depression has long been recognized. Although dysfunction of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system has been implicated in both chronic pain and depression, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we show that the inhibitory inputs to the neuronal pathway from the dorsolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (dlBNST) to the ventral tegmental area increase during chronic pain. This neuroplastic change is mediated by enhanced corticotropin-releasing factor signaling within the dlBNST that leads to tonic suppression of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which may be involved in the depression-like symptoms under the chronic pain condition. These findings provide useful insights that may lead to the development of new treatments for chronic pain and depression.
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