Amygdalar involvement in pain.

ABSTRACT

The limbic system has been implicated in the modulation of pain. The aim of this study was to determine the role of amygdala in different types of pain, viz., phasic and tonic. Unilateral stimulation of central nucleus of amygdala (CeA), basolateral nucleus (BL) and medial amygdaloid (MeA) in conscious rats resulted in the reduction of the tonic formalin-induced pain. The thresholds for simple vocalization (SV) and vocalization after-discharge (VA) were elevated during amygdalar stimulation in the tail-flick (phasic pain) test. However, the threshold for tail-flick (TF) evoked by electric shock was not affected. Tail-flick latency (TFL) to noxious heat was accentuated during amygdalar stimulation. These results suggest that amygdala had a modulatory role in the descending endogenous pain control mechanisms.