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VIP cortical conductors set the tone for chronic pain

Nature Neuroscience volume 20, pages 1037–1038 (2017)Cite this article

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Loss of inhibition in a circuit in the primary somatosensory cortex that controls the activity of layer 5 neurons drives pain hypersensitivity. Restoring this inhibition resets the inhibitory–excitatory balance, producing analgesia.

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Figure 1: Cortical changes in the balance of excitation and inhibition underlie neuropathic pain symptoms.

Kim Caesar/Springer Nature

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Erika K Harding & Michael W Salter

  2. Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Erika K Harding & Michael W Salter

Authors
  1. Erika K Harding
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  2. Michael W Salter
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Correspondence to Michael W Salter.

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Harding, E., Salter, M. VIP cortical conductors set the tone for chronic pain. Nat Neurosci 20, 1037–1038 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4609

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