This book presents current research in progress on pain. Different philosophical/scientific perspectives can be adopted while studying the functioning of the nervous system especially taking into account in the first place what can be considered a normal/healthy vs. an unhealthy nervous system. The field of pain and its inter–relationship with well–known human nervous system disorders such as Alzhemiers, Parkinsons and MS is huge. Battaglia does not aim to provide an in depth, encyclopedic reference to pain but will instead, help non–experts, including advanced undergraduate and new postgraduate students, become broadly familiar with the current, wide–ranging areas of research that cover every aspect of the field from chronic and inflammatory pain to neuropathic pain and biopsychosocial models of pain, functional imaging and genetics.
The aim is to prompt the readers to become critical and independent thinkers and motivate them to do further reading on these topics. Chapter contributions from leading experts in their field, including members from the Institute of Psychiatry at King s College London, will provide both factual information and critical points of view on their approach to the subject matter and the theoretical framework behind their choices.
Contents
List of contributors ix Foreword xiii Acknowledgements xv Notes on authors xvii Introduction 1 Section I: Neurobiology of pain: Recent advances 11 1 Anatomy of pain pathways 13 Andrew J. Todd 2 Spinal plasticity of the nociceptive system: The role of central sensitization in chronic pain states 35 Alban Latremoliere 3 Symptoms and pathology in neuropathic pain 89 Matthew Thakur and Stephen B. McMahon 4 Recent advances in neuroimmune interactions in neuropathic pain: The role of microglia 123 Elizabeth A. Old, Louise S. C. Nicol and Marzia Malcangio 5 Genetics and epigenetics of pain 149 Franziska Denk and Stephen B. McMahon 6 The cannabinoid system and its role in nociception 169 Massimiliano Beltramo 7 EphB receptors and persistent pain 201 Isabella Gavazzi Section II: Pain in the brain 225 8 Brain imaging in experimental pain 227 Massieh Moayedi and Tim V. Salomons 9 Placebo effects in pain 249 Luana Colloca, Adam P. Horin and Damien Finniss 10 Psychology and pain 267 Lance M. McCracken Section III: Pain in the lifecycle and in nervous system disorders 281 11 Pain in neonates and infants 283 Fiona Moultrie, Sezgi Goksan, Ravi Poorun and Rebeccah Slater 12 How do people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience pain? 295 Cecile Rattaz, Amandine Dubois and Amaria Baghdadli 13 Pain and depression: The janus factor of human suffering 317 Angela Iannitelli and Paola Tirassa 14 Pain in multiple sclerosis: From classification to treatment 345 Claudio Solaro and Michele Messmer 15 Pain perception in dementia 361 Miriam Kunz and Stefan Lautenbacher 16 The role of cognitive impairment in the placebo and nocebo effects 373 Martina Amanzio 17 An overview of pain in parkinson s disease 387 Panagiotis Zis, Elisaveta Sokolov and Kallol Ray Chaudhuri Appendix: Interviews with chronic pain patients 409
