Cited by 3,781Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsPain Management and TreatmentNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

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Neuronal Plasticity: Increasing the Gain in Pain

Woolf, Clifford J., Salter, Michael W.·2000·Science

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Abstract

We describe those sensations that are unpleasant, intense, or distressing as painful. Pain is not homogeneous, however, and comprises three categories: physiological, inflammatory, and neuropathic pain. Multiple mechanisms contribute, each of which is subject to or an expression of neural plasticity-the capacity of neurons to change their function, chemical profile, or structure. Here, we develop a conceptual framework for the contribution of plasticity in primary sensory and dorsal horn neurons to the pathogenesis of pain, identifying distinct forms of plasticity, which we term activation, modulation, and modification, that by increasing gain, elicit pain hypersensitivity.

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.288.5472.1765

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Authors: Woolf, C. J., & Salter, M. W.
Affiliations: Harvard University (US)
University of Toronto (CA)
Corresponding author: Woolf, Clifford J.
ORCID: Woolf, Clifford J.
Salter, Michael W.
Venue: Science
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Published: 2000-06-09
Volume: 288
Issue: 5472
Pages: 1765-1768
ISSN: 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
1095-9203
DOI: 10.1126/science.288.5472.1765
OpenAlex: W2133316133
Cited by: 3,781
References: 76
Citations by year: 2026: 62 · 2025: 101 · 2024: 96 · 2023: 104 · 2022: 99 · 2021: 99 · 2020: 129 · 2019: 112 · 2018: 124 · 2017: 140 · 2016: 150 · 2015: 170 · 2014: 142 · 2013: 188 · 2012: 166
FWCI: 13.94
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords: neuroplasticity, pain, hyperalgesia, primary sensory neurons, dorsal horn neurons, neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, plasticity mechanisms, pain modulation
MeSH terms: Animals, Humans, Inflammation, Models, Neurological, Synaptic Transmission, Neuronal Plasticity, Neurons, Afferent, Nociceptors, Pain, Signal Transduction, Posterior Horn Cells, Peripheral Nerve Injuries

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Neuronal Plasticity: Increasing the Gain in Pain

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