Nociceptive primary afferents: They have a mind of their own

Susan M. Carlton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nociceptive primary afferents have three surprising properties: they are highly complex in their expression of neurotransmitters and receptors and most probably participate in autocrine and paracrine interactions; they are capable of exerting tonic and activity-dependent inhibitory control over incoming nociceptive input; they can generate signals in the form of dorsal root reflexes that are transmitted antidromically out to the periphery and these signals can result in neurogenic inflammation in the innervated tissue. Thus, nociceptive primary afferents are highly complicated structures, capable of modifying input before it is ever transmitted to the central nervous system and capable of altering the tissue they innervate.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3403-3411
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Physiology
Volume592
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 15 2014
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology

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