A mouse study hints at why chronic pain and poor sleep are linked.
Scientists may finally have an explanation for why poor sleep is tied to chronic pain. A new mouse study suggests that nerve injuries make certain brain cells go haywire during sleep, and this sudden excitement may lead to chronic pain. Conversely, stopping the hyperactivity during sleep can help relieve the pain, the study hints.
The study focused on neuropathic pain, which arises from an injury or disease in the nerves that relay sensory information from the body to the brain. The researchers studied mice with injuries in one of the sciatic nerves, the major nerves that extend from the spinal cord to the hind legs.
The activity of this cell cluster had also increased after injury, the team found, and this led the cells to send the chemical messenger acetylcholine up to the cerebral cortex. Through a chain reaction, this action essentially lifted the breaks off the pyramidal neurons, shifting them into overdrive.
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