Authors: Hiroyuki Neyama, Yuping Wu, Yuka Nakaya, Shigeki Kato, Tomoko Shimizu, Tsuyoshi Tahara, Mika Shigeta, Michiko Inoue, Kazunari Miyamichi, Natsuki Matsushita, Tomoji Mashimo, Yoshiki Miyasaka, Yi Dai, Koichi Noguchi, Yasuyoshi Watanabe, Masayuki Kobayashi, Kazuto Kobayashi, Yilong Cui
Published: 2025-01-15
Source: Full article
Placebo analgesia is caused by inactive treatment, implicating endogenous brain function involvement. However, the neurobiological basis remains unclear. In this study, we found that μ-opioid signals in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activate the descending pain inhibitory system to initiate placebo analgesia in neuropathic pain rats. Chemogenetic manipulation demonstrated that specific activation of μ-opioid receptor–positive (MOR