A study in Science by Karolinska Institutet researchers explains how morphine relieves pain. This is important because morphine has serious side effects. Morphine, an opioid painkiller, blocks pain signals and boosts pleasure. While it affects multiple pain pathways, the exact neural processes were unclear until now.
Researchers used new methods to study how morphine activates specific neurons, helping to identify and control the neurons involved in pain relief.
Researchers found that morphine affects specific neurons in the brain’s rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM), forming a ‘morphine ensemble’ that leads to pain relief.
Inactivating these neurons stopped morphine’s pain-relieving effects while reactivating them restored the relief. An essential type of neuron that connects to the spinal cord plays a central role in slowing down pain signals to prevent pain.
Morphine, when used as a medicine, can cause serious side effects like addiction, abuse, overdose, and even death. According to Professor Patrik Ernfors from Karolinska Institutet, finding ways to treat pain without these risks has been challenging. He and his team hope that understanding how morphine works in the body will help reduce these side effects in the future.
According to Patrik Ernfors, the study is critical because it explains how morphine provides substantial pain relief and how this differs from the effects that cause euphoria and addiction.
Patrik Ernfors said, “The study is important because knowledge of the neural pathway and cells may explain how morphine can have such a powerful pain-relieving effect. It may also provide information on how these processes differ from those that induce the feeling of euphoria, well-being, and addiction.”
Next, researchers want to explore why morphine’s pain relief decreases with long-term use.
Journal reference :
- Michael P. Fatt, Ming-Dong Zhang, et al., Morphine-responsive neurons that regulate mechanical antinociception. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.ado6593.