Pain is a warning
sign and a highly potent modulator of behavior. This naturally very useful
mechanism evolves into a central healthcare problem, when pain becomes chronic and
highly impacting the patient's daily life.
By means of
fMRI and modern graph theoretical analyses, we surveyed dynamic changes of
functional connectivity within the mouse brain evoked within 7 sessions of
noxious thermal stimulation of the hind paw. With no evidence of peripheral
hyperalgesia, we found noticeable alterations of connectivity especially within
cognitive and associative-evaluative brain structures. We hypothesize that
these findings reflect profound changes that central sensitization impresses on
the brain.
