The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

Perioperative abstinent smokers experience heightened pain sensitivity and increased postoperative analgesic requirements, likely due to nicotine withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia. However, the underlying neural mechanisms in humans remain un…

Hormonal contraceptives (HCs) are one of the most highly prescribed classes of drugs in the world used for both contraceptive and noncontraceptive purposes. Despite their prevalent use, the impact of HCs on the brain remains inadequately ex…

Pain is considered a multidimensional experience that embodies not merely sensation, but also emotion and perception. As is appropriate for this complexity, pain is represented and processed by an extensive matrix of cortical and subcortica…

Glycinergic neurons regulate nociceptive and pruriceptive signaling in the spinal cord, but the identity and role of the glycine-regulated neurons are not fully known. Herein, we have characterized spinal glycine receptor alpha 3 (Glra3) su…

Nescient helix-loop-helix 2 (NHLH2) is a hypothalamic transcription factor that controls the expression of prohormone convertase 1/3, therefore having an impact on the processing of proopiomelanocortin and thus on energy homeostasis. Studie…

Chronic pain is often associated with sexual dysfunction, suggesting that pain can reduce libido. We find that inflammatory pain reduces sexual motivation, measured via mounting behavior and/or proximity in a paced mating paradigm, in femal…

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is unique among a broad range of hyperalgesic agents in that it induces hyperalgesia in rats that is markedly enhanced by repeated mechanical stimulation at the site of administration. Antagonists to the ET-1 receptors, …

Neurons that produce gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) are the final common pathway by which the brain regulates reproduction. GnRH neurons are regulated by an afferent network of kisspeptin-producing neurons. Kisspeptin binds to its co…